In the Court of the Conqueror is a solo performance piece by artist George Emilio Sanchez with projections and visual storytelling by visual artist Patty Ortiz. Together, they confront the history of how the courts have diminished the Tribal Sovereignty of Native Nations.

The piece also tells the story of Sanchez’s experiences of navigating generational trauma regarding his Indigenous identity while being raised in an Ecuadorian immigrant household. The work focuses on several Federal Indian Landmark cases, leading up to the Johnson v. McIntosh 1823 Supreme Court case that applied the Doctrine of Discovery that still holds legal precedent in our courts of the conqueror. Sanchez and Ortiz traveled across hundreds of geographic miles and ancestral homelands to create this interdisciplinary performance that combines text and video projects to reveal this country’s ongoing conflicts with Native Nations in search of Indigenous justice and sovereignty.

Tickets: $35

Groups of 10+ can purchase by calling the Box Office at 253.346.1721.

Find out more at Tacoma Arts Live