In acknowledgement of the Muscogee Creek Nation and their profound contribution as the original storytellers and story makers on Georgian soil, Aurora Theatre invites theatre-goers and community members to share in a journey of listening, learning, and understanding at Trail of Resilience: The Beginning of Understanding on April 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrenceville Arts Center Grand Lobby. Aurora Theatre will be hosting this event and Land Acknowledgement as part of its ongoing commitment to the Native community.

“With Trail of Resilience: The Beginning of Understanding, Aurora Theatre pledges to make our space one of healing and belonging in the sincerest effort to understand the history that brought us to reside on this land,” said explains Aurora Theatre Co-Founder/President and CEO, Anthony Rodriguez. “We desire our Land Acknowledgement to be the beginning of our return to unity, not just for each other but the awareness that we are truly a part of the earth.”

The event will feature the unveiling of an art piece “Rocky Boy” from Indigenous artist Andromeda Grimm. In the piece, Andromeda honors the fight and spirit of their grandma who was taken from her home in the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation at a young age, placed in boarding school and made to conform to the behaviors and customs of her non-Indigenous classmates. The piece tells her story and displays her resilience in continuing to pass her traditions down to her children and grandchildren despite the circumstances of her childhood.

Nicole Love Hendrickson, Chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will also read a proclamation in tandem with the art showing. She will share her hope to honor April 4 as Trail of Resilience Day in recognition of the Muscogee Creek Nation and all indigenous people who were forcefully removed from their lands under the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Through Trail of Resilience: The Beginning of Understanding, Aurora Theatre hopes to take strides in creating a space to honor those who came before and celebrate the beautiful contributions the Indigenous group has made to the city of Lawrenceville, Georgia and the nation as a whole. As such, the regional theater invites its community to join in recognizing their history with solemnity and a renewed vigor to find unity.

For more information on this event visit auroratheatre.com/trail-of-resilience.