Marcie R. Rendon (citizen of the White Earth Nation), is the best-selling author of Where They Last Saw Her, MN Book Award winter; and author of the Cash Blackbear crime series, the most recent is Broken Fields. Out of Hand Theater, Atlanta, GA will produce a staged reading of SayTheir Names in Nov. 2025. Mni Giizhik Theater, Mpls., will produce Rendon’s scripts Say Their Names and Sweet Revenge in 2025 and 2026. Rendon's poetry, Anishinaabe Songs for the New Millennium, 2024, received the Heartland Booksellers Award in poetry; and Stitches of Tradition, a picture book, is an American Indians in Children’s Literature Picture Book Selection, and Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books, 2024, CCBC Choices, 2025. Rendon was the 2020 MN McKnight Artist of the Year and was on Oprah’s 2020 list of 31 Native American Women to read.

Nikki Young is an actor, writer, director, and producer for theater and film projects including her own independent short films, WINNING LISA and WHISTLE LESSON, which screened at various international film festivals. In 2006, she produced the theatre production Medley of a Playwright: A Tribute to the Life and Work of August Wilson, featuring scenes from the playwright’s epic ten-play cycle. She was named an August Wilson Center Fellow in 2013. In addition to her work as a freelance writer, director and performer, her production credits include Abduction, Jack Reacher, and the Netflix film adaptation of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Currently, Nikki is the Associate Artistic Director for Out of Hand Theater and Program Director for Creative Kids, Out of Hand’s Theater Education Program. 

Nicolette Emanuelle (Lumbee) is a multi-disciplinary performance artist whose work spans circus arts, acting, producing, music performance, and music composition. Nicolette uses their diverse skills to create meaningful, collaborative projects that explore identity, culture, and belonging. They are always seeking collaborations in projects that promote social justice, especially at the intersections of race and gender. For more information, visit nicoletteemanuelle.com.

Lynn Haywood (Mixed M’ikmaq) lives to create art in any form, but finds her strongest passion in the aerial arts, specializing in Lyra and silks. She loves creating mixed medium pieces that tell important stories and evoke strong emotions without using words. She enjoys teaching and is a certified aerial instructor, with experience teaching kids and adults around Atlanta, Georgia. Lynn also likes creating visual arts and has a handmade jewelry business by the name of Faerie Waers. Her art often takes inspiration from her personal experiences, including growing up mixed race in Georgia, which was highlighted in her involvement as a performer in the previous production “What Are You?” with 7 Stages.

(Chiricahua Apache)
Daughter, Mother, Sister, Wife, Child of Creator, Jingle Dress Dancer. She dances for those who are no longer with us, those who no longer can, and to make a positive energetic ripple for the sake of future generations. Embracing each moment with a curious heart, she is quiet, reserved, spiritual, loving, strong, and is a moral bridge to inspire and to be inspired. For her, loving is not expecting love in return, but to heal others into feeling self-worth. She is steadfast in doing her part in healing Mother Earth and bringing peace to all.

(Enrolled member of the Sicanju Lakota Nation from Rosebud Reservation)

Cultural Healing Advisor - mother, grandmother, US Army Veteran and honored elder.

Tina Reyes is a strong Chiricahua Apache woman. She loves love who she is. She is  most proud of being a mother, grandmother and teaching her family their heritage. She makes her living making frybread at Powwows and is honored to be a part of this production and the First Voices Festival.

(Oglala Lakota , PineridgeReservation)

Grandmother, mother, and sister. US Marines veteran, therapist (retired), elder.

CT Mayo (Multiracial enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation) is a SAG-AFTRA eligible freelance multidisciplinary artist, designer, and engineer working in DREAMS (Design, Research, Engineering, Art, Media, and Sustainability). Their work can be found across the world and has been exhibited in Georgia, New York, and Japan. Always learning and adding new skills to her toolbox, she graduated with highest honors and holds dual degrees in Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering with further studies in Design for Culture and Identity, Psychology, Photography, Film & Media. After college she worked as a subsea product engineer in Texas before leaving the extractive industry and returning home to Georgia where she gained employment as a lighting design engineer. Now pursuing a life in the arts, they have set on the path of reclaiming narratives and increasing representation of Asian and Indigenous peoples. A multiracial enrolled citizen of Cherokee Nation born and raised by her Taiwanese mother in the American South, they strive to make a positive difference for future generations with a passion for creating whimsical art & design inspired by the magical universe we call home. More info available online at ctmayo.xyz

Adrienne (she/her, Oglala Lakota Nation) has been creating and performing in the Twin Cities for over a decade working with various theater companies such as New Native Theater, Bedlam Theater, Raving Natives Theater, Oyaté Hotanin, Pangea World Theater, An Opera Theatre, Turtle Theater Collective, The History Theater and The Guthrie Theater. A few of her theatrical performances include 2012: The Musical, Bring the Children Home, Our Town, Stories From the Drum, The Dakota Project, This Way Yonder, Mináǧi kiŋ dowáŋ: A Zitkála-Šá Opera ('My Spirit Sings'), For the People, and Say Their Names.

She is a co-founder of Mni Giizhik Theatre Ensemble along with Sequoia Hauck and Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha. Mni Giizhik's purpose is to provide high quality, vibrant, joyful Native theatre and foster the talents within our Native community in ethical, collaborative, and relational ways. Most recently, Mni Giizhik produced The Sioux Chef, Sean Sherman’s, Make The Americas Borderless Again/The Turtle Island Cookbook Live Launch Event at The Guthrie Theater. Adrienne is a founding member of The Guthrie Theater’s Native Advisory Council collaborating with other First Nations community members to help decolonize spaces and open doors for indigenous performers and creators as well as create a welcoming environment for our indigenous community to attend and be a part of the theater family in the Twin Cities. Adrienne created the “You Are On Native Land” merchandise that is currently sold in the Guthrie Theater’s gift shop where 100% of all profits go to Native organizations here in the Twin Cities. Over $20,000 has been raised to assist Ikidowin, The Minneapolis American Indian Center, the American Indian Magnet School, and the Nest Women’s Center.

You can help Native community by purchasing You Are On Native Land merchandise here.

https://guthriestore.com/collections/adrienne-zimiga-january

photo credit: ©Sequoia Hauck

Jada Brown (Descendent Turtle Mountain), aka Downtown Jada Brown, is a vocalist, writer, and composer from Minneapolis, Mnisota. She had many musical influences growing up that produced her unique sound, which she continuously likes to express and push her own confines. Admiration is their solo debut, they are also featured on a number of artists' works in the Twin Cities and beyond.  

https://jadabrown.bandcamp.com/music