Center for Indigenous Studies Presents

Antíkoni and the Question of Adaptation

The timeless and profound themes expressed in Antigone, the great tragedy by Sophocles, has made it one of the most adapted plays in theater, speaking to political and ethical problems around the world. In my talk, I will describe my own engagement with the play in my revision, Antikoni, which centers a Nez Perce-Cayuse family debating the fate of ancestral remains, family loyalty, and what it means to live between spiritual law and the law of the State. I will explore the ways in which the play is an adaptation, but is also about adaptation--about Native people struggling to adapt and find a way through systems that are hostile to them, and the price that is paid along the way.

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This event is free and open to the public, no registration required.

Dr. Beth Piatote’s (Nez Perce enrolled Colville Confederated Tribes) play Antíkoni is from her collection The Beadworkers and was written in part while in residence as a fellow at Bard Graduate Center. Inspired by this work’s themes of possession, belonging, and inheritance, the Center for Indigenous Studies has invited speakers to discuss tribal preservation, NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act), and the universality of the values that run through both Sophocles’ Antigone and Piatote’s adaptation. 

The Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies will host its inaugural symposium on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, 26 at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The symposium includes workshops, lectures, and discussions centered around Dr. Beth Piatote’s (Nez Perce enrolled Colville Confederated Tribes) brilliant play Antíkoni, an adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone. Piatote will give her public keynote address “Antíkoni and the Question of Adaptation” on Thursday, April 25, 2:00–3:30 pm ET in Weis Cinema, located in the Bertelsmann Campus Center at Bard College.

For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

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Time: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Weis Cinema

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