Elaine Magree Shares Brilliant Native Recollections

by Robert M. Gardner

A trip to The Marsh in Berkeley is always an exciting experience and Saturday, April 13 was no exception with the opening of Elaine Magree’s solo show called “Other.” As a veteran producer and superb actor, Magree exercises her wicked wit, as she tries to untangle her genealogical origins with the Umatilla tribe.  Her complicated heritage makes for an evening of humor, insight, and wisdom.

As a young woman in the 50s, Magree has to fill out applications with bulleted lists of ethnicities—White, Black, Hispanic. Although Magree knew she was mostly French, she had heard family stories about ancestors from the Confederated Umatilla Reservation, east of Pendleton, Oregon. Given her Native American “roots,” she honestly checked “Other.”

The play opens to the sound of teeny-bopper tunes from Magree’s youth when life seemed simpler. The scene quickly shifts to the 60s when she discovers acid and psychedelic rock bands.  Her horizons widen as she begins to question her identity.  Who was she really? Magree’s quest leads to her grandparents’ home on the Federated Umatilla Reservation.

The play is not only about Magree but about the otherness in each of us. Discovering our origins can offer a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are going. Magree explores her Umatilla connections with humor and pathos, helping us understand infinite varieties of “Other.”

Faced with the question of where to put her mother’s ashes, Magree goes back to the Reservation.  At the Umatilla Cultural Center, she encounters a helpful tribal member. Native American humor, which I recognize from Native friends in North Dakota, often sounds sarcastic without being insulting.  When the Native American directs Elaine to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for more detailed records, she asks: “Can we walk to it?”  He replies: “You can … but we drive.”

The BIA, a necessary but hated evil on reservations, has for years conducted annual census surveys to determine whether you have enough “blood quantum” to qualify for government aid.  Magree clearly explains the complex rules that govern Native membership. Her choice of “Other” brings up many questions.

Lost in the stacks at the BIA office, she discovers that her family lived in Frenchtown, outside the reservation.  Her ancestors were Meti, French/Indian trappers who migrated from Canada and married into the Umatilla tribes.  Armed with photos and names, will she find her family in the daunting Federal Rolls?

Within Umatilla culture, prejudice sometimes develops towards relatives who live outside the Reservation. Magree skillfully pursues her quest, which quickly takes on the aura of a mystery.

Magree does a masterful job of revealing a deeply personal story to which we can all relate. She also gives us a deep insight into how U.S. colonialist policies have held back Native peoples. Magree triumphs because she unearths a new meaning for “Other.”

 

“Other” –written & performed by Elaine Magree, directed by Kenny Yun, developed by Rebecca Fisher and David Ford, at The Marsh, Berkeley, California. Info: themarsh.org – Saturdays at 5:00 PM – to May 4, 2024.

Cast: Elaine Magree

Banner photo: Elaine Magree. Photos: David Allen