Radcliffe: "Sliver of a Full Moon" reenactment of the historical congressional reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

Sliver of a Full Moon
November 19, 2015 | 6:30 PM–9 PM
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Sliver of a Full Moon is a powerful reenactment of the historical congressional reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2013: a movement that restored the authority of tribal governments to prosecute non-Native abusers who assault and abuse Native women on tribal lands. The staged reading first documents the legal and jurisdictional issues raised in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe that left Native women and children at a higher risk of domestic violence than any other group in the United States. The reenactment then follows the bipartisan legislative battle to reauthorize VAWA with a provision that would protect Native women and children from violence. Sliver of a Full Moon is a portrayal of resistance and celebration.

The cast features four courageous Native women who stepped forward to share publicly their stories of abuse by non-Indians and their efforts to staunch opponents to the tribal provisions, and it includes professional actors and current Harvard students. The reading will include compelling monologues from the voices of longtime Native women’s advocates, leaders, and survivors. A panel discussion will follow the presentation.

Panel Participants:

• Daniel Carpenter, director of the social sciences program, Radcliffe Institute; Allie S. Freed Professor of Government, Harvard University
• Maggie McKinley (Fond du Lac Chippewa), Climenko fellow and lecturer on law, Harvard Law School
• Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), playwright
• Angela Riley (Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma), Oneida Indian Nation visiting professor of law, Harvard Law School; professor of law, and director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, UCLA School of Law
• Joseph William Singer, Bussey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served starting at 5:30 PM. 

Register online and view the full schedule: www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-sliver-full-moon-reading-discussion.

This event at the Radcliffe Institute is part of the Initiative on Native and Indigenous Peoples. Cosponsored by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP), Harvard Native American Law Students, Harvard Divinity School, the Standing Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights, and the Donald T. Regan Lecture Fund, with support from the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and the Office of the President and Provost.

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The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is dedicated to creating and sharing transformative ideas across the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Learn more about the people and programs of the Radcliffe Institute at www.radcliffe.harvard.edu.