In this timely world-premiere drama by celebrated playwright, activist and attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle, past and present intertwine. Nagle’s story illuminates the tragic consequences of commercial exploits, including the removal of Native people and the attempted eradication of their culture, that gave rise to the America we know today. Securities trader Jane Snake is torn between worlds. Her return to Wall Street in 2008 brings her to Manahatta (“island of many hills” in Lenape), the homeland her ancestors were violently forced to leave in the 1600s. Meanwhile, her family in Oklahoma struggles to save their language, their culture and their over-mortgaged home. Jane Snake’s return to Manahatta defiantly demonstrates that the Lenape are still here.
Sheila May Tousey (born June 4, 1959) is a Native American actress. Tousey is a Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Native American, raised on both the Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee reservations. A professional dancer and actress, Tousey began doing pow wows as a small child but did not perform on stage until she attended the University of New Mexico. She initially entered the university's law program, planning to specialize in federal contracts and Native American law, but later changed her major to English, and began taking theater arts courses. After graduation, Tousey enrolled in the graduate acting program at New York University's Tisch School of Arts.