Rocks Karma Arrows is a remarkable lesson that you can't undo the past, but if you recognize it, if you learn about it and learn from it, then you can move forward in the future more honorably.

— STEVEN MOORE, ATTORNEY, NATIVE AMERICANS RIGHTS FUND

In collaboration with the Longmont Museum, Motus Theater presents the screening of part 1 of Rocks Karma Arrows.. 

Rocks Karma Arrows is a film of Motus Theater's multimedia contemporary theater piece looking at Boulder history through the lens of race and class. Historical figures, like the great Chief Niwot, come alive to tell the story of the early founding of Boulder and the massacre at Sand Creek. Interviews with local historians and Buddhist monks are woven with historical photographs and film into the drama. At times the photographic images completely take over 180° of the theatrical space so that actors are literally immersed in the history - interacting with the photos, struggling with the voices of the past, and trying to understand how those voices echo in the present. The highly acclaimed production debuted as an official city event for the Boulder Sesquicentennial in 2009 at the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The film was created with a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The screening will be followed by a powerful two-part poetic response from poet Tanaya Winder (Southern Ute, Pyramid Lake Paiute, and Duckwater Shoshone Nations). After the film, the audience can engage in a Q&A with Native American rights activist Ray Ramirez, and Rocks Karma Arrows creator and Motus Theater Artistic Director, Kirsten Wilson.

“‘Rocks Karma Arrows’ is packed with as much information as a semester of lectures, but it’s never a drag. It employs a diverse set of performance styles and techniques, but it’s highly accessible and never pretentious. It’s a look in the mirror — often an uncomfortable one — but it’s not heavy-handed, nor does it peddle guilt or sell shame. It covers enough ground to leave you breathless, yet gives you room to breathe and think and, finally, to respond.”

— MARK COLLINS, BOULDER DAILY CAMERA

Bios 

Tanaya Winder is an author, singer / songwriter, poet, motivational speaker and educator who comes from an intertribal lineage of Southern Ute, Pyramid Lake Paiute, and Duckwater Shoshone Nations where she is an enrolled citizen. Tanaya’s performances and talks emphasize the importance of “heartwork” – the life path one is meant to follow by using his/her/their gifts and passions. She blends storytelling, singing, and spoken word to teach about different expressions of love (self love, intimate love, social love, community love, and universal love). She is the Director of the University of Colorado Boulder's Upward Bound program; during her 10 years there she has served hundreds of Indigenous youth. Tanaya believes everyone has a gift they’ve been placed on this earth to share. Her specialties include: youth and women empowerment, healing trauma through art, creative writing workshops, and mental wellness advocacy.

Ray Ramiréz is a longtime Native American rights activist and the retired Media Coordinator for the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). He has been named a Multicultural Champion for his work in Longmont, Colorado. Ray worked at NARF for almost 26 years. Before NARF, he worked with the Department of Education at Tohono O’Odham Nation in Arizona and in tribal administration at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Ysleta, TX. Throughout it all, Ray was and is always willing to share his experiences, knowledge, and wisdom to help others understand the injustices that impact indigenous peoples.