ADVANCING INDIGENOUS PERFORMANCE
Promoting Indigenous performance on stage and beyond.
We provide pathways for Indigenous artists and presenters to connect and collaborate in ways that are rooted in the shared values of openness, inclusion, equity and generosity. In 2015, the initiative began as a first-of-its kind showcase of Indigenous performance and by 2018 had evolved into the Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) Program. For six years, we provided educational and career development support for US-based Indigenous artists and presenters to build and expand the Indigenous performing arts network. Now our work is to activate the network to strengthen the visibility and sustainability of Indigenous performing arts across the U.S. and beyond.
AIP RESOURCE CENTER
Let the AIP Resource Center be your guide to an Indigenous future in the performing arts. Compiled over the last 10 years, you will find resources you can use in your organization, from how to craft a land acknowledgment to practical advice for presenting Indigenous artists on stage. You can meet artists involved in the AIP Program and download a basic toolkit to begin your journey. Visit our member’s only portal to unlock more in-depth information, webinars, professional development sessions and artist showcases. If you have resources that you’d like to share, please contact us.
AIP INTEREST GROUP
The AIP Interest Group is for both Native and non-Native performing arts professionals. We embrace a dual purpose to provide a safe and generative space for Indigenous artists to build community as well as a place for presenters and other programmers to grow into becoming better hosts for Indigenous performance and the Native community. Join us for quarterly meetings designed to foster connections and collaborations so we can together advance Indigenous performance.
Western Arts Alliance announces the development of a new Indigenous performing arts festival in Portland, OR - the Portland Native Festival or PDX N8V FST - with an inaugural 2025 Series at ally WAA member venues: Clark College, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, and Boom Arts. Stay tuned for what comes next.
Sign up to join the festival mailing list and don’t miss out on upcoming events.
2025 AIP SYMPOSIUM
The Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) Symposium has empowered individual artists and catalyzed a collective reimagining of what the performance world can become. Grounded in their cultural traditions and lived experiences, Indigenous artists have forged their own paths across genres, geographies, and generations while actively reshaping the field itself. Their call to the sector is clear: invest in mentorship, support visibility, honor cultural practices, and trust Indigenous artists to lead.
On October 13, 2025, WAA hosted the 2025 AIP Symposium to celebrate the importance of this work and how it continues to evolve.
This conversation will be available in the future in Western Ways, our member-only content collection.
AIP PANEL
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Christopher K Morgan
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Tim Wilson
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Leleihua Lanzilotti
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Delbert Anderson
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Joshua Heim
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Ed Bourgeois
I ka wā ma mua, i ka wā ma hope | We look to the past as a guide to the future — Hawaiian ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (proverb)
Moderated by 2018 Native Launchpad Artist and AIP Committee Chair Christopher Kaui Morgan, this panel opens with I ka wā ma mua (the time behind), reflecting on the origins of AIP with WAA’s former Executive Director and AIP Founder Tim Wilson.
The conversation shifts to I ka wā ma hope (the time ahead), with Kanaka Maoli composer and multimedia artist Leilehua Lanzilotti and Diné jazz trumpet artist, composer and educator Delbert Anderson offering their visions for the future of Native performing arts.
The panel will conclude with Leilehua and Delbert in discussion with WAA’s Executive Director Joshua Heim and AIP and PAD Program Manager Ed Bourgeois, to dive further into the future of Native Performing Arts.
Interwoven with reflections from a range of AIP artists, this panel will serve as both a celebration of what has been achieved and a call to action for the work still to come.
AIP Steering Committee
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Christopher Kaui Morgan
CHAIR
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Delbert Anderson
MEMBER
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Madeline Sayet
MEMBER
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Laura (Cales) Matalka
MEMBER
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Rika Iino
MEMBER
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Ed Bourgeois
MEMBER / Former AIP Program Manager
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS
2025 activities are supported by the James F and Marion L Miller Foundation (Portland, Oregon) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
OUR PAST SUPPORTERS
From 2018 through 2024, the Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) program was made possible by a lead grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Additional program partners including Arts Midwest, CreativeWest, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the New England Foundation for the Arts.