William S. Yellow Robe Jr.

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William S. Yellow Robe Jr.
Born(1960-02-04)February 4, 1960
Poplar, Montana[1]
DiedJuly 19, 2021(2021-07-19) (aged 61)
Bangor, Maine
Occupation
  • Actor
  • author
  • director
  • educator
  • playwright
  • poet[2]
Nationality
Fort Peck Assiniboine
GenreNative American literature
Notable worksGrandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers: And Other Untold Stories, Where the Pavement Ends
Notable awardsFirst Nations Book Award for Drama

William S. Yellow Robe Jr. (February 4, 1960 – July 19, 2021) was an

Assiniboine actor, author, director, educator, playwright, and poet.[2]

Life and career

A member of the

Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Yellow Robe was raised by his mother on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.[3] He studied writing and performing arts at the University of Montana.[4]

Yellow Robe's works have been performed in venues across the United States, including the

Public Theater in New York;[6] the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI;[7] and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.[8] He was a member of Penumbra, as well as the Ensemble Studio Theater,[9] Amerinda, Inc.,[2] and the advisory board for Red Eagle Soaring Native Youth Theatre.[10]

Yellow Robe has also taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Brown University,[11] and the University of Maine.[12]

He died following a long illness in Bangor on July 19, 2021.[13] The day after he died, Yellow Robe was named the recipient of a $40,000 award in recognition of his contributions to theatre.[14] His papers joined the many playwright and poetry archives at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin in 2022 and are available there for research.[15]

Awards

  • New England Theater Conference Special Award winner (2004)[16]
  • New York Community Trust Helen Merril Award for Playwrighting (2021), announced one day after Yellow Robe died.

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ "William Yellow Robe Receives Lifetime Achievement Award". Department of English. University of Maine. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "William S. Yellow Robe Jr". Amerinda.org. Amerinda. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  3. JSTOR 467568
    .
  4. ^ Pulitano, Elvira (Spring 1998). "Telling Stories through the Stage: A Conversation with William Yellow Robe". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 10 (1): 19.
  5. ^ "Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers". Penumbra. Penumbra Theatre. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  6. ^ Hetrick, Adam (August 3, 2011). "William S. YellowRobe Jr.'s Thieves Arrives at the Public". Playbill. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  7. ^ "Past Seasons". Trinity Repertory Company. Archived from the original on 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  8. ^ "National Museum of the American Indian Presents Production of Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers". Newsdesk. Smithsonian. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  9. ^ Geiogamah, Hanay. "Interview with William S. Yellow Robe Jr. (2007)". Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  10. ^ "Acclaimed playwright William S. Yellow Robe Jr. to read works at Hangin' Art Gallery". Char-Koosta News. November 8, 2012. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  11. ^ McElwain, Diana (April 21, 2003). "William Yellow Robe: No One's Stray Dog". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  12. ^ "Faculty — William Yellow Robe". Department of English. University of Maine. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  13. ^ Burnham, Emily (21 July 2021). "Acclaimed Native playwright and UMaine lecturer William Yellow Robe dies at 61". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Helen Merrill Awards Announce 6 Winners". 20 July 2021.
  15. ^ "My Friend Bill Yellow Robe". sites.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  16. ^ Watts, Jeff (Fall 2004). "Countdown to Convention 2004" (PDF). NETC News (PDF). 13 (4). Retrieved 2015-03-24.

Further reading

External links