Mary Kathryn Nagle, Lawyer for Native American Rights and Playwright of New Drama, Sovereignty, to Address National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker Tues., Jan 23

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Native Americans have been in the news with opposition to oil drilling and mining being allowed on federal lands held sacred by tribal nations. Late last year, at an event honoring Navajo code talkers, President Trump's insulted Senator Elizabeth Warren, calling her  "Pocahontas." And later this year, the Violence Against Women Act, which includes tribal criminal jurisdiction, eliminated by the Supreme Court in 1978, is up for reauthorization.

Past and present come together in Sovereignty, a new play debuting this month at Washington's Arena Stage, which explores present day Native rights and the defense of the Violence Against Women Act, juxtaposed against the tragic history of Cherokee Nation during Andrew Jackson's presidency. Sovereignty's playwright, Mary Kathryn Nagle, will discuss the play and how it relates to current Native American issues at a National Press Club-sponsored Headliners Newsmaker, Tues., Jan. 23, at 10 a.m., in the club's Bloomberg Room. Washington bureau chief for the Salt Lake Tribune and former National Press Club president Thomas Burr will moderate the Newsmaker news conference. A limited number of tickets to Sovereignty for working journalists have been made available.

Nagle is a direct descendant of Major Ridge who served as Speaker of the Cherokee Nation Council during the early 1800s while Jackson was in the White House. Nagle, a lawyer, playwright and citizen of Cherokee Nation, currently serves as the executive director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program and is a partner at Pipestem Law, P.C., where she works to protect tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Indian Nations to protect their women and children from domestic violence and sexual assault. 

The National Press Club is located on the 13^th Floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. This news conference is open to credentialed media and NPC members, free of charge. No advance registration is required.

Contact: Lindsay Underwood, [email protected], (202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club