We respectfully acknowledge that the Alabama Shakespeare Project (ASP), as part of the University of Alabama, is located within the ancestral homelands of the Alibamu, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Koasati, Mvskoke, and Poarch Creek peoples.
The history of European and American conquest, extraction, and displacement of Indigenous peoples in west Alabama is layered and complex. It ranges from expeditions led by sixteenth-century Spanish conquistadores Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, Pánfilo de Narváez, and Hernando de Soto; eighteenth-century French settlement and encroachment; to territorial battles between the French and British in the Seven Years’ War. In the early nineteenth century, Alabama-based indigenous communities were pressured to cede ancestral lands under the Indian Removal Act and Treaty of Cusseta, and were either ethnically cleansed or forcibly deported from their homes via the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.
Today, the Cher-O-Creek Intertribal Indians, Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama, Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, MaChis Lower Creek Indian Tribe, MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks, United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation, and Poarch Band of Creek Indians are living descendants of the peoples from this region.
Are you interested in learning more about and supporting our local Indigenous communities in west Alabama? Consider a donation, endowment, or volunteering for one of the following organizations.
- Bama Indigenous Students Organization Network (BISON)
- Poarch Creek Tribal Government and Programs
- Moundville Heritage Site and Festival
- Alabama Indian Affairs Commission scholarships
- Native American and First Nations theatres (none in the southeast)
- American Theatre’s list of Native-run companies (none in the southeast)
The ASP team continues to learn, collaborate, and create an environment where we hope Indigenous artists, audiences, and community members are heard and valued. We are mindful that the works of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries come out of a period of European colonialism, violence, and expansion that had and continues to have immediate impacts on this region, as noted in Randy Reinholz’s essay, “The Current State of Native Theatre” (HowlRound, Feb 2015). We encourage you to learn more about the land and waters you reside on, as well as the history of honoring indigenous communities, wherever you may be.