Semester Award Granted

Spring 2025

Submission Date

May 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Michael S. Harris

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of ritual, drama, and liminality in pantribal Native American dance performances, emphasizing embodied liminality as a performative process shaping cultural continuity, identity transformation, and communal reinforcement.

Using an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates archival research, visual anthropology, and qualitative analysis, this study investigates three case studies: (1) the Ghost Dance movement as a liminal ritual of resistance and cultural revitalization; (2) pan-tribal powwows as sites of embodied liminality and cultural revitalization, and (3) contemporary Native American theater, analyzing theatrical plays through the lens of liminality, visual anthropology, theater and performance methodologies.

Examining embodied liminality in historical and contemporary contexts, this research explores how native American performers navigate sacred and secular spaces, tradition and modernity, and personal and collective identity. Native American performance dynamically expresses cultural resilience by extending the narratives through theatre and digital platforms, challenging dominant representations and reclaiming cultural sovereignty. This bridges the transition from sacred grounds to theatrical stages as sites of resistance, adapting and reshaping native American identity while influencing American theatre and contemporary artistic discourse

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