WMS Fall Play

THE REMEMBERER by Steve Dietz

You are 12 years old, and living happily with your parents, grandparents, family and a wonderful community. What would you do if you were ripped away from everything you knew and loved? Your family and friends – even your language? Can you imagine this happening to you today?

T H E   R E M E M B E R E R tells the true story of Joyce Cheeka, a young Squaxin girl, who was forcibly taken from her home and placed in a government-run school in 1911. As the chosen "rememberer" for her tribe—an honor passed down to her from her grandfather, Mud Bay Sam—it is Joyce's duty to pass on the stories, history and wisdom of her people. But the white boarding school Joyce is taken to wants to eliminate any trace of Joyce's heritage. Through her friendship with the headmaster at the school, and with the help of her "spirit guide," Joyce succeeds in forming a bridge between this new world and the world of her ancestors.

C H A R A C T E R S :

JOYCE, Squaxin Indian Girl, 12

ADULT JOYCE, Joyce as a grown woman

EMILY SAM, Joyce’s grandmother

MUD BAY SAM, the tribal rememberer

HENRY, Joyce’s cousin

SQUAXIN WOMAN, a relative of Joyce’s 

AUNT SOPHIE, Joyce’s deceased relative 

PITCH WOMAN, a mythical old woman

TWIN RIVER, Kwakiutl Indian employed B.I.A. 

LONGHOUSE, Henry’s father

CHIEF SEATTLE, a Duwamish Chieftain

NURSE WARNER, a nurse at the school, 30’s

DR. BUCHANAN, head of Tulalip Training School

MULLIN, the county sheriff

MR. CONRAD, a teacher, Tulalip Training School

SUPERINTENDENT, head U.S. Indian Schools, 40 

MISS BRENNAN, a teacher at the school

 DARIN LONGFEATHER, a student, 17

 OTIS, a student, 6

 GIRL ONE, student, 15

 GIRL TWO, student, 12

 YOUNG GIRL, student, 8

 BOY ONE, student, 13

 BOY TWO, student, 12

 YOUNG BOY, student, 8

From the Dramatic Publishing Website:

A U T H O R ‘ S   N O T E: 

            Joyce Simmons was born at Mud Bay near Olympia, Washington, on January 31, 1901, She was the third of seven children. 

           Lacking a written language, knowledge among these Indian peoples was passed on from generation to the next through the stories and recollections of a chosen member of the tribe – the “Rememberer.” Early in life, Joyce was chosen to succeed her grandfather as the Rememberer among the people. 

            In 1964, Joyce Simmons Cheeka began to tell her stories to educator and child drama advocate Werdna Phillips Finley. Over the next five years, Ms. Finley taped the hundreds of hours of Joyce’s memories growing up as a Squaxin Indian girl in lower Puget Sound. The reminiscences were edited down to a 270 page manuscript titled “As My Sun Now Sets.”

            Chapter Four of the manuscript deals with Joyce being forcibly taken from her home and placed in the Tulalip Training School, a government run boarding school under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

            This is where the play begins.