Where the Pavement Ends

Book excerpt: Five plays by the award-winning Native playwright When leading Assiniboine playwright Wil-liam S. Yellow Robe, Jr., began his theatrical career, few roles existed for American Indians. So he wrote his own plays, creating parts for himself and other Native actors. Where the Pavement Ends contains five of Yellow Robe's most poignant and powerful plays: The Star Quilter, The Body Guards, Rez Politics, The Council, and Sneaky. Written in the 1980s and 1990s and based on his experiences on the Fort Peck reservation, these plays explore American Indian experience, from Indian-white relations to ecology and identity. Combining raw reservation reality with subtle humor, their unique perspective on humanity remains fresh today.