“We Are Still Here”

The Story of Katherine Siva Saubel

April 27, 2002
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

“We Are Still Here” is the story of Katherine Siva Saubel and the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, told through original Cahuilla legends, narratives and scenes from Mrs. Saubel’s extraordinary life. Mrs. Saubel, the first Native American female to graduate from Palm Springs High School, is a respected tribal elder and international scholar, who has lectured throughout the world on the Cahuilla language and culture.

The play, written, directed and produced by Leigh Podgorski, features an all-Native American cast. The work premiered at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park. “We Are Still Here” has been presented at the Sherman Indian School in Riverside, California, UCLA though the American Indians Studies program, the NoHo International Theatre and Arts Festival, the Sanford Meisner Theatre, the Native California Cultural Awareness Conference at Cal State San Bernardino, the San Manuel Bingo and Casino, the California Indian Conference at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, California, and at the Native Arts and Culture Conference at Idyllwild Arts Academy.

The Cast

Kait Matthews is originally from Canada. She is Ojibway from the Mnjikaning First Nation Reservation in Ontario. Kait has been a stage actress for many years and is honored to have the privilege of helping to tell the story of such a respected and inspiring woman in this production of “We Are Still Here.” Thank you Katherine Siva Saubel.

DeLanna Studi has always been a firm believer in fate. DeLanna started performing at the age of three. Her father, a stoic Cherokee, thought she would outgrow this phase. After all, no one from Liberty, Oklahoma could possibly be an actor! DeLanna studied theatre at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and the University of Arkansas. Her father graded every performance. He gave DeLanna one week to move to Los Angeles. On the day she was scheduled to return, DeLanna found an apartment and stayed. DeLanna is currently touring Southern California schools with her one-woman show KICK. She has bee in “We Are Still Here,” “On the Showroom Floor” and “Pennyman.” She’s on the way to proving that even a girl from Liberty, Oklahoma can be an actress.

Marjorie Tanin was born, raised, and is a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo Tribe from New Mexico. She is a traditional member of the tribe and is fluent in the Tewa language. At present Marjorie resides in Santa Monica with her husband, Cyril.

She first became involved in the motion picture industry as an actress in 1987 and is a current AFTRA & SAG member. She was very active in the “American Indian Registry,” casting Native American Indians in various roles, as well as serving as a consultant on their many projects. From 1994-1998 she served as the vice-chair of the Native American Sub-committee at the Screen Actors Guild, along with being an active member of the E.E.O.C. & the Ethnic Women’s sub-committees.

Aside from her career as an actress and casting director she volunteers many hours of her time to the Native American community. She is on the advisory board of “Native Voices” at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, a theater group. She is also an active member of the “Native American Median Task Force.” Marjorie was the first Native American to serve on the Ralph Bunche Scholarship Committee at UCLA.

Marjorie has been featured in many TV programs and movies. She also stays busy doing voiceovers/looping and print work. Some of her credits include looping for “Walker, Texas Ranger” & “Looking for Lost Bird,” a Hallmark Hall of Fame television show which aired in the fall, 2000. Other known looping credits are “Fairy Tales for Every Child-Snow White” & Disney’s “Pocahontas II” (video). Currently she is busy casting for a feature film titled “Roswell One.” Along with her casting schedule she is still very involved in the state presentation, “We Are Still Here,” the story of Katherine Siva Saubel, a Cahuilla Indian of Southern California. The play has inspired her to produce an educational video to be made as part of the California school curriculum.

Michael Wise (Cherokee/Caddo) seriously took up acting as a career in 1979 when he worked on “The New Maverick” in Old Tucson, Arizona as an extra. Since then he has worked on the soap operas “General Hospital,” “Santa Barbara” and “Falconcrest.” Television shows he has appeared on are “The Amanda Show” and “Arrest and Trial.” He has done voice-overs on “Peter Pan and the Pirates” as Great Big Chief Little Panther, “Captain Planet” as Richard Yellowfeather, and has narrated the documentary “Wolf Nation” concerning the reintroduction of the wolf into Yellowstone Park and the Arapaho Wolf Ceremony. You can see Michael’s work in such films as “Roadhouse,” “Next of Kin,” and “Fever Lake.” His theatre credits include “The Rainmaker,” “Vieux Carre,” “Cyrano De Bergerac” and “We Are Still Here.” Michael is currently involved as a representative for Native American talent at the Screen Actors Guild, is a member of SAG and AFTRA and has organized a monthly meeting at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum called the Native American Film and Television Alliance, a group dedicated to the advancement of American Indians in film and television. Currently he is writing and directing short films for film festival consideration. Michael is represented by the Wallis Agency.

Brian Wescott (Athabaskan/Yup’ik) was born and raised in Alaska, where a great thing to do during long winter months was to put on plays. He studied drama at Harvard and Yale Universities before moving to L.A., where he recently played the son in Diane Glancy’s “Jump Kiss” at the Wells Fargo Theatre. He makes his feature film debut in the upcoming “Christmas in the Clouds.”

Ernie Fragua (Ernie White Cloud) is a member of the Jemez Tribe from New Mexico. He has done numerous commercials, nationally and internationally, TV soap operas, music videos, documentaries and movies.