They Are Still Talking, a Maura Garcia Dance project led by Maura García and Ahyoka Youngdeer, is a traveling Cherokee cultural reclamation project focusing on the roles and rights of women and two-spirit people. At its core the project is an ancestral invocation, featuring an Indigenous foods feast, movement-based Cherokee language classes, small-group talks and culminating in a multimedia dance performance.
Maura García (non-enrolled Cherokee/Mattamuskeet) is a dancer, a choreographer and the artistic director of Maura Garcia Dance (MGD). Her work is powered by a desire to perpetuate ancestral knowledge, actively respect the living earth and further social justice. Maura’s artistic creations reflect the power of stories to form and change our realities. Through narrative driven choreography she seeks to form connections, empower Indigenous cultural values and explore the rhythms of the natural world. As a fellow in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s 2016 Artist Leadership Program, she worked with members of the Kansas City Indian Center and local Indigenous artists to realize an 8-month arts project exploring ancient and contemporary urban Indian identity. Maura is dedicated to collaborating within Indigenous communities to celebrate group narratives through dance and other art forms. To date she has partnered with numerous organizations to carry out workshops and long-term projects.