A new performance next month at the O’Shaughnessy shares the wisdom, humor, challenges, and joys of Native leaders.
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By Jerrod Sumner – March 6, 2024
Justice Anne K. McKeig and Sandy White Hawk are Indigenous leaders in Minnesota who will take to the stage as part of “The Aunties” performance April 20 at the O’Shaughnessy of St. Catherine University.
This site-specific storytelling series features three Native American women from the region who “share their wisdom, humor, challenges, and reasons for celebration.”
McKeig was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2016 and previously was an Indian Child Welfare Act specialist. Sandy White Hawk is an adoptee from the Rosebud Reservation of South Dakota and the author of “A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return.” She is also the founder of First Nations Repatriation Institute, working with Native people impacted by foster care or adoption.
Irene Green, executive director of the O’Shaughnessy, says the school’s Integrated Learning Series has focused on Indigenous topics. “At the O’Shaughnessy, we are always looking to program high-quality performances that feature women’s voices, women’s leadership, and influence,” Green says. “And because nearly half of the undergraduate student body at St. Kate’s identifies as BIPOC and because of our core value of social justice—we are especially interested in centering BIPOC artists, BIPOC creative vision, and BIPOC perspectives in our work.”
We spoke with McKeig (Indigenous name: Awaniikwe, meaning “mist woman,” White Earth Nation) and White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota) about the production, “aunties” culture, and their own lives. We used the terms Native, Indian, and Indigenous at their preference.
