Eastern Oklahoma State College, Press Release, American Indian Actors

MAHENWAHDOSE, an American Indian performance troupe featuring nationally-known storytellers and actors Will Hill and Geninne Washington, were featured artists at the college during Native American Heritage Week.

Hill and Washington’s presentations included a performance on Wed., Nov. 19, at 1:00 entitled “EGUN-UH: Tales of the Earth,” which featured stories about creepy crawlers. These ancient tales were used to teach lessons and were filled with comedy, song, and dance. This performance was free, open to the public, and was in Mitchell Auditorium on the Wilburton campus. Hill and Washington also presented a cultural and historical performance to Eastern’s History of American Indian class and an instructional performance to Eastern’s drama classes.

Will Hill is a full-blood Muscogee/Cherokee storyteller and actor. A graduate of the College of Santa Fe, he is the oral historian and the traditional Nagonagogee Oni-Yah (storyteller) in his generation and family from Alabama Corsadee. He was voted “Favorite American Indian Performer in the State of Oklahoma” in 1998. He has 18 years of performance experience on TV, stage, and in films. He has been a lead actor at the Trail of Tears Drama in Tahlequah and has performed at Red Earth.

Geninne Washington is of Cherokee, Yuchi, and Seminole descent. She is a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatics Academy in New York. She, too, has appeared in numerous stage and film productions and has 18 years of stage experience. She also has a lead role in the Trail of Tears drama and has performed at Red Earth. Together they travel all over the nation and perform in over 3000 schools and universities. “I am proud of the rich culture, history, and vast diversity of this continent’s beautiful Native people,” said Hill.

These presentations were funded by the Oklahoma Arts Council Oklahoma Touring Program, Latimer State Bank, Wilburton State Bank, the Eastern Theatre Department, Eastern’s Library Media Center, Russell Shaw and the Eastern Native American Student Association, and Chris Butler of Wilburton’s City Council. Mary Edith Butler, instructor and director of the Library Media Center, and Ruth Brelsford, chair of Eastern’s Theatre Department, coordinated the event.

Caption info: L-R: Geninne Washington and Will Hill

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