Wes Studi and DeLanna Studi

Art Restart

Wes Studi and DeLanna Studi

November 22, 2019

For over 30 years, Wes Studi has been an indelible presence on American film and TV screens, starring in such blockbusters as Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans and Geronimo: an American Legend, in which he portrayed the title character, as well as in numerous television films and series. A lifelong activist, he currently serves as the spokesperson for the Indigenous Language Institute, which works to ensure that cultural practices and identities are passed down to future Native generations in their respective communities’ original language.

Like her uncle, DeLanna Studi is both a performer and activist. She has acted on stages throughout the country, and in 2018 she performed at Triad Stages in Winston-Salem, NC and Portland Center Stage in Oregon in And So We Walked, a play she wrote based on her experience walking the 900-mile Trail of Tears in the company of her father. The chair of the SAG-AFTRA Native Americans Committee, she also mentors young Native artists through a variety of initiatives across the country.

In this interview, Corey Madden, who developed And So We Walked with DeLanna and directed its recent productions, learns from the Studis how they found themselves in unexpected positions of leadership and discusses the tools they’ve developed along the way to remain effective and impactful artist leaders.

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Winston-Salem, NC

Host Pier Carlo Talenti interviews artists who are shaking up the status quo to learn how they are reinventing their fields and building a new landscape for the arts.