 |
| Sarah Ridge Polson (Elizabeth Frances) observes the signing of the Treaty of New Echota by her ancestors and others played by (from left) Adam Magill, Kholan Studi, Scott Coopwood, Andrew Roa, and Robert I. Mesa. |
A young attorney’s efforts to restore rights to her
Cherokee Nation become personal in “Sovereignty.”
Presented by Marin Theatre Company, this play by
Mary Kathryn Nagle is both a powerful drama and a look at American history
usually ignored in schools and history books.
Although not autobiographical per se, it’s based on
Nagle’s family history from the 1820s and ’30s to the present. Her principal
character, Sarah Ridge Polson (Elizabeth Frances), is descended from Major
Ridge (Andrew Roa) and his son, John Ridge (Robert I. Mesa).
The playbill, a treasure trove of historical
information, helps to clarify their roles and the events that followed.
Major and John Ridge were the 19th
century leaders of efforts to enforce the Cherokee Nation’s rights of
sovereignty in Georgia. Those rights included a law that made the rape of a
woman on Cherokee lands a crime that the Cherokee Nation could prosecute no
matter what the assailant’s citizenship or race was.
That right was upheld in an 1832 Supreme Court
decision that President Andrew Jackson (Craig Marker) and the Georgia governor
refused to enforce. The upshot was that John Ridge and others, over the
objections of John Ross (Jake Waid), signed a treaty agreeing to allow
Cherokees to move to Oklahoma, where they would have their own land.
Those who refused to leave were forced to do so,
resulting in the infamous “Trail of Tears.”
 |
| Sarah confers with her new boss, Jim Ross (Jake Waid). |
In the play’s present scenes, Sarah is hired by the
Cherokee Nation Attorney General’s Office, headed by Jim Ross (Waid). She
doesn’t reveal her middle name, Ridge, because there’s still bad blood between
the Ridges and the Rosses.
She has recently become engaged to a federal police
officer, Ben O’Connor (Marker). While Ben was drinking with a buddy at an
Indian casino in Oklahoma, a Cherokee Nation cop, Watie Polson (Kholan Studi),
Sarah’s brother, was assaulted by a drunk (Scott Coopwood).
However, because of a Supreme Court decision in
1978, neither Ben nor Watie had authority to arrest the man because he was a
non-Cherokee on Cherokee land.
Sarah and Jim, her boss, work on an appeal to the
Supreme Court seeking to give Indian nations the right to prosecute anyone who
assaults women, children or law enforcement officers or who commits other
sexual crimes on Indian land.
Ben, jealous of the time Sarah is spending with Jim,
beats her up in a drunken rage.
Under the outstanding direction of MTC artistic
director Jasson Minadakis, the action seamlessly shifts between past and
present. Moreover, he has chosen an outstanding cast that includes several
Native Americans. Except for Frances as Sarah, most of the actors play several
roles.
Facilitating smooth transitions is the design team
of Annie Smart, set; E.B. Brooks, costumes; Danny Osburn, lighting; and sound,
Sara Huddleston. Brenda Toineeta Pipestem served as cultural consultant.
Running just over two hours with one intermission,
“Sovereignty” will continue through Oct. 20 at Marin Theatre Company, 397
Miller Ave., Mill Valley.
Photos by Kevin Berne
