Part 1 of Essay
Black Elk Speaks is a play about the history of the relations between American Indians and Europeans from the first contacts to the present. My first thoughts of being assigned to attend the show were not very positive. I expected to endure an evening of hell with my sanity preserved solely by intermission and the finale. ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... learned to look and to act like Indians which is what characterization is all about. Another reason to cast Eurocentric actors is there are many characters in the play. It would be very difficult to cast Indians in every role. Martinez even double and triple cast to accommodate for the many roles. This is a common occurrence in theater productions. I was not very impressed with the performances as different characters. It was difficult to distinguish one role from another. The Indians were dressed so simi ....