PLAYING HIPPIES AND INDIANS: ACTS OF CULTURAL COLONIZATION IN THE THEATRE OF THE AMERICAN COUNTERCULTURE Miriam Hahn A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2014 Committee: Jonathan Chambers, Advisor Sheri Wells-Jensen, Graduate Faculty Representative Eileen Cherry-Chandler Scott Magelssen © 2014 Miriam Hahn All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jonathan Chambers, Advisor In this dissertation, I examine the appropriation of Native American cultures and histories in the theatre of the American counterculture of the 1960s and seventies, using the Living Theatre’s Paradise Now, the street theatricals and broadsides of the San Francisco Diggers, and James Rado and Gerome Ragni’s Hair: The American Tribal- Love Rock Musical as my primary case studies. Defining themselves by points of difference from mainstream America and its traditional social and cultural values, counterculturalists often attempted to align themselves with Native Americans in order to express an imagined sense of shared otherness. Representations of Natives on countercultural stages, however, were frequently steeped in stereotype, and they often depicted Native cultures inaccurately, elided significant tribal differences, and relegated Native identity almost wholly to the past, a practice that was particularly problematic in light of concurrent Native rights movements that were actively engaged in bringing national attention to the contemporary issues and injustices Native Americans faced on a daily basis. In my study, I analyze the impulses that might have led counterculturalists to appropriate Native culture during this period, highlighting some of the ways in which such appropriations played out in Paradise Now and Hair, as well as on the streets of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. I examine the countercultural tendency to use stereotyped Native characters as mascots for various—and sometimes competing— iv causes, such as environmentalism, hallucinogenic drug use, communalism, pacifism, and violent activism, and I demonstrate how such mascotry appeared in the theatre of the period. I also interrogate the propagation of the troublesome “vanishing Indian” stereotype during the sixties and seventies, tracing its development into the popular myth of the hippie as reincarnated Native. Finally, I examine Hanay Geiogamah’s 1972 play Body Indian as an alternative model for more ethical and responsible Native representation, also proposing my own guidelines for non-Native artists engaging with Native subject matter in their creative work. v Dedicated to Dan and Anne Hahn, to Sarah Mauldin and Daniel Hahn, and to Quincy Thomas. In memory of John and Helen Brooks, and of Robert and Ruth Hahn. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many individuals who have supported me throughout my academic career, and I am grateful for the opportunity to thank them here. First, I offer many thanks to the members of my committee—Scott Magelssen, Jonathan Chambers, Eileen Cherry-Chandler, and Sheri Wells-Jensen. Your guidance and insights have enriched my work, your comments and suggestions have been highly generative, and your enthusiasm for this project has bolstered and sustained my own. Thank you all for giving generously of your time and energy, and for thoughtfully engaging with my work at every step of the process. Jonathan, I am so grateful to you for stepping in as my advisor this year and helping me to transition seamlessly into the final stages of my graduate career. Scott, I will never be able to thank you enough for all that you have done as my advisor and mentor. You have been there at every stage of the process—from my earliest seeds of an idea to the final keystrokes—encouraging me, challenging me, and helping me to develop the skills and confidence I needed, not only to complete this project, but to become a better scholar and academic professional. I have been blessed to study under many phenomenal teachers and advisors during my academic career, and I would especially like to thank Scott Magelssen, Jonathan Chambers, Lesa Lockford, Sara Chambers, Victor Holtcamp, Amy Lehman, Deno Trakas, Mark Ferguson, Kerry Ferguson, and Colleen Ballance. Your faith in my work encouraged me when I had none of my own. You’ve supported me at every turn, offering help and guidance despite the frenzied pace of your own hectic schedules. You’ve taught me how to ask better questions, and you’ve inspired me to look at the world in newer and more intuitive ways. You have each modeled for me different aspects vii of the kind of teacher, scholar, mentor, and artist I aspire to become, and I hope to continually reflect and honor your influence in my professional work. Thank you all for showing me the way. Over the past four years, I have had the great fortune of being part of a vibrant graduate community at BGSU, surrounded by the incredible love and support of colleagues who have become some of my dearest friends. In particular, I would like to thank Patrick and Alyssa Konesko, Angenette and Daniel Spalink, Slade Billew, Matthew Nicosia, and Heidi Nees Carver. When I first walked onto this campus, I had no idea that I would be welcomed by such an exceptional group of people, individuals with such caring hearts, brilliant minds, and generous spirits. You’ve led by example, and you’ve taught me so much about navigating everything from the classroom to the academic conference to the Midwest in winter. You have seen me through the darkest times, and you’ve helped me celebrate the best. I’m a better person because of the influence that each one of you has had on my life, and I am so grateful that I was able to share my time in Bowling Green with all of you. Of all of the amazing people I’ve met here, however, Quincy Thomas has touched my life most profoundly. Quincy, your friendship and your faith in me have kept me going when I didn’t think I had anything left to give. I will never be able to express just how thankful I am that we entered this program at the same time, and I can’t imagine how I would have finished it without you. It is a truly unique talent to be able to make someone look back fondly on their years in graduate school, but that’s exactly what you’ve done for me. Thank you for the laughter and the adventures, too many to mention here. Thank you for being there for me every single time the pressure became too much viii to handle. Thank you for being a sounding board for my bright ideas and my not-so- bright ones, for engaging thoughtfully with my scholarship, and for supporting me in each and every one of my endeavors. I love you and am so grateful that you are a part of my life. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Early on, my parents and grandparents taught me that education would be the key to my future success, and it is because of their guidance that I have attempted and achieved many of the things that I have, including pursuing a Ph.D. I am continually inspired by my parents’ inexhaustible passions for teaching and for learning, as well as by the influence of my late grandparents, who gave selflessly of their time and energy to help those in need and those they loved. My siblings have also set incredible examples for me, constantly showing me what it means to work hard to reach my goals, without compromise. To my parents, Dan and Anne Hahn, and to my sister and brother, Sarah Mauldin and Daniel Hahn, I offer my heartfelt thanks. You have helped me along this path in so many ways. You’ve supported my career decisions, engaged critically with my work, sparked thoughtful and generative conversations, allowed me to vent my frustrations, renewed my faith in my own abilities, and much, much more. I love you all and am truly blessed to have the support of such an wonderful family. A million thanks for all you’ve done to help me reach this point. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I. A CULTURE IN CRISIS ............................................................................... 14 Defining the Counterculture ...................................................................................... 17 The Student Movement and the New Left ................................................................. 21 The Civil Rights Movement....................................................................................... 29 The Vietnam War ....................................................................................................... 36 Radical Theatre and the Counterculture .................................................................... 44 Vicarious Victimization and the Appropriation of Tragic Histories ......................... 54 CHAPTER II. UNETHICAL ETHNOGRAPHY AND THE APPROPRIATED NATIVE 61 The Living Theatre and Paradise Now ...................................................................... 64 The San Francisco Diggers ........................................................................................ 78 Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical ........................................................ 96 Countercultural Performance as Cultural Transvestitism .......................................... 113 Dialogical Performance and Empathy ....................................................................... 116 CHAPTER III. NATIVE MASCOTRY AND THE “IMAGINARY INDIAN” .................. 120 Countercultural