MERCILESS INDIAN SAVAGES: A Native Perspective on the Declaration of Independence

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this short play festival turns its gaze toward the founding document Americans are taught to revere—but rarely taught to read closely.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal . . .”

Many Americans memorized those words in elementary school, reciting them with pride. Far fewer were taught that the same document—championing equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—also describes Native people as “merciless Indian savages.”*

This year, Native Voices invited Native playwrights to interrogate what this country does—and does not—teach about its original inhabitants. What lies were passed off as history? What omissions shaped the classroom narrative? What stories did we learn to tell, to teachers, classmates, and ourselves?

The resulting short plays form a bold, incisive, and often hilarious Indigenous response to U.S. history. Part correction, part counternarrative, these works reclaim voice, expose contradictions, and puncture centuries of misinformation with wit, clarity, and unapologetic Native perspectives.

We didn’t ask the playwrights to be merciless.

We didn’t ask them to be “savage.”

But, we did ask them to be unmistakably, unapologetically Native.

We invite you to join us for an afternoon of sharp, fearless storytelling that challenges what we think we know about 1776—and who gets to define history.

*The Declaration of Independence includes the following indictment among its list of grievances: “He has . . . endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages . . .” "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription," National Archives, updated August 2025, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.