Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers

Trinity Repertory Company presents the New England premiere of Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers, a new play by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. A co-production with Penumbra Theatre Company, St. Paul, MN, this project marks this country’s first fully-mounted professional collaborative touring production by regional theaters of a Native American play by a Native playwright.

Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers reveals the historic clash of two fiercely proud yet oppressed cultures, pitted against one another by westward expansion. The play depicts the homecoming of Craig Robe, descended from an African American “buffalo soldier” and a Native American woman. Ridiculed as “too black” to be Native, the Robe family has struggled for acceptance not only by their tribe, but perhaps more importantly, by each other. Seeking community, Craig turns to those whose blood runs through his veins. This compelling new drama asks audiences to consider racial and cultural identity, while maintaining a compassionate and open-minded view of the complexity of mixed race heritage in America, and the Native community.