William S. Yellow Robe Jr. Explained

William S. Yellow Robe Jr.
Birth Date:	4 February 1960
Birth Place:	Poplar, Montana^[1]
Death Place:	Bangor, Maine
Nationality:	Fort Peck Assiniboine
Genre:	Native American literature
Notableworks:	Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers: And Other Untold Stories, Where the Pavement Ends
Awards:	First 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.

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.^[2] He studied writing and performing arts at the University of Montana.^[3]

Yellow Robe's works have been performed in venues across the United States, including the Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul;^[4] the Public Theater in New York;^[5] the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI;^[6] and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.^[7] He was a member of Penumbra, as well as the Ensemble Studio Theater,^[8] Amerinda, Inc.,^[9] 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

• Book: Where the Pavement Ends: Five Native American Plays . Norman, OK . University of Oklahoma Press . 2003 . 0806132655.
• Book: Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers and Other Untold Stories . UCLA American Indian Studies Center . 2009 . 978-0935626599.
• The Body Guards. ASIN: B014613HLM
• The Burning of Uncle. *from Learner, A. (Ed.). (1990). Dancing on the rim of the world: an anthology of contemporary Northwest native American writing. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
• The Council. ASIN: B014617O4S
• Independence of Eddie Rose. ASIN: B00LLPCN1C *from Mojica, M. and Knowles, R. (Eds.). (2003). Staging coyote's dream: an anthology of First Nations drama in English. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press.
• Restless Spirits: plays. Albany: State University of New York Press, [2020].
• Rez Politics. ASIN: B0146168YK
• Sneaky. ASIN: B014619D42
• The Star Quilter. ASIN: B01461109S

Further reading

• Book: Krasner, David . Coming-of-Age on the Rez: William S. Yellow Robe's The Independence of Eddie Rose as Native American Bildungsdrama . Native American Performance and Representation . Wilmer, S. E. . Tucson . University of Arizona Press . 2009 . 171–181 . 978-0816526468.
• Web site: 2005 . David . Rooks . The Real Thing: Identity and cultural authenticity are dramatic fodder for William S. Yellow Robe Jr. An interview . American Theater . Theatre Communications Group . 2015-03-24.
• Book: Stoudt, Charlotte . Border Crossings: Theatre, Tribalism and Twenty-First-Century America. Luis Valdez at San Diego Repertory Theatre and William Yellow Robe Jr., at Trinity Repertory Company . Stages of Transformation: Collaborations of the National Theatre Artist Residency Program . Stoudt, Charlotte . New York . Theatre Communications Group . 2004 . 56–67 . 978-1559362771.
• Weagel . Deborah Fillerup . The Quilt as (Non-)Commodity in William S. Yellow Robe Jr.'s The Star Quilter . Western American Literature . 46 . 1 . 2011 . 46–64. 10.1353/wal.2011.0038 . 163056238 .
• Web site: Rob . Weinert-Kendt . In the Trenches: William Yellow Robe . tgc circle . Theater Communications Group . 2015-03-24.

External links

• William S. Yellow Robe Jr. Papers at the Harry Ransom Center
• Faculty Profile at the University of Maine
• Bill Yellow Robe Spoke Native Truth to White Power by Rhiana Yazzie at American Theatre

Notes and References

1. Web site: William Yellow Robe Receives Lifetime Achievement Award . Department of English . University of Maine . 7 June 2019 . 28 March 2018.
2. Uno . Roberta . Interview: William Yellow Robe . MELUS . Fall 1989 . 16 . 3 . 83 . 10.2307/467568 . Robe . William Yellow. 467568 .
3. Pulitano . Elvira . Telling Stories through the Stage: A Conversation with William Yellow Robe . . Spring 1998 . 10 . 1 . 19.
4. Web site: Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers . Penumbra . Penumbra Theatre . 2015-03-24.
5. Web site: Adam . Hetrick . William S. YellowRobe Jr.'s Thieves Arrives at the Public . Playbill . August 3, 2011 . 2015-03-24.
6. Web site: Past Seasons . Trinity Repertory Company . 2013-03-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120228231233/http://www.trinityrep.com/about_us/history/past_seasons.php . 2012-02-28.
7. Web site: National Museum of the American Indian Presents Production of Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers . Newsdesk . Smithsonian . 2015-03-24.
8. Web site: Hanay . Geiogamah . Interview with William S. Yellow Robe Jr. (2007) . Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library . Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics . 2015-03-24.
9. Web site: William S. Yellow Robe Jr. . Amerinda.org . Amerinda . 2015-03-24.
10. News: Acclaimed playwright William S. Yellow Robe Jr. to read works at Hangin' Art Gallery . 2015-03-24 . Char-Koosta News . November 8, 2012.
11. News: McElwain . Diana . William Yellow Robe: No One's Stray Dog . 2015-03-24 . Bangor Daily News . April 21, 2003.
12. Web site: Faculty — William Yellow Robe . Department of English . University of Maine . 2015-03-24.
13. Web site: Acclaimed Native playwright and UMaine lecturer William Yellow Robe dies at 61. Emily. Burnham. Bangor Daily News. 21 July 2021. 21 July 2021.
14. Web site: Helen Merrill Awards Announce 6 Winners. 20 July 2021.
15. Web site: My Friend Bill Yellow Robe . 2022-08-16 . sites.utexas.edu.
16. PDF . Watts . Jeff . Countdown to Convention 2004 . 2015-03-24 . NETC News . 13 . 4 . Fall 2004.