Culture Vulture

Abstract

Culture Vulture was a one night only multisensory performative event held at TeePee Junction in Lawrence, Kansas on Earth Day, April 22, 2017. It mirrored Buffalo Bill’s Wild West by entertaining, educating, and engaging the audience through performance, dance, video, fashion, alternative storytelling, participatory, and interactive elements. It incorporated multiple senses including sight, sound, touch, and taste to give viewers memorable and uncomfortable first hand experiences. In contrast to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, Culture Vulture urged viewers to ask questions about how colonization, religious influence, oppression, assimilation, American history, and uneven power dynamics, have contributed to a loss of cultural identity. In addition to historical events, it more subtly urged viewers to consider other factors that influence contemporary identity construction including geography, desire to belong, stereotypes, and cultural consumption. The event focused on my conflicting Native American and Irish Catholic identities. Culture Vulture was structured in two acts with a pre-show, intermission and reception. The first act addressed colonization and the continued repercussions of religiously oriented oppression and assimilation in both Native America and Ireland. The second act addressed events in American history, like the gold rush, that further disenfranchised Native peoples while providing opportunities for immigrants. Conflicting ancestral histories, stereotyping and a desire for culture all contribute to my personal identity confusion. The goal of Culture Vulture was to create conversations about identity formation, expose racism and discrimination, and celebrate diverse cultures.