Murielle Borst Tarrant
(Kuna/Rappahannock Nations)
Welcome to the official site of Murielle Borst Tarrant, a visionary artist whose work bridges Indigenous legacy and contemporary performance.
Murielle’s creative practice spans theater, literature, and cultural advocacy, rooted in ancestral knowledge and driven by a commitment to transformation. As a playwright, performer, director, and fantasy novelist, she weaves stories that honor survival, challenge erasure, and imagine futures where Indigenous voices are central and sovereign.
Through ensemble creation, speculative fiction, and community-based performance, Murielle cultivates spaces of resilience, radical imagination, and healing. Her work is ceremonial and political, intimate and expansive—whether on stage, on the page, or in the streets. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Safe Harbors NYC, a platform supporting Indigenous artists navigating urban landscapes and institutional systems.
This site offers a window into Murielle’s journey: her groundbreaking productions, her literary worlds, her teaching and advocacy, and her ongoing commitment to cultural continuity and creative sovereignty.
Explore her latest projects, read about her artistic lineage, or reach out to collaborate.
Works / Projects
Tipi Tales from the Stoop
A solo performance tracing four generations of Indigenous survival in Brooklyn. Through humor, dysfunction, and ceremony, the piece explores how traditions outlawed by the U.S. government were kept alive in urban spaces.
Tipi Tales from the Stoop is represented by Elsie Management. For booking inquiries, contact Laura Colby at laurac@elsieman.org or visit Elsie Management’s official site.
Feast of Ghosts
A ritual-based performance that explores the haunting legacies of colonial violence and the spiritual labor of remembrance. Through movement, sound, and ancestral invocation, the piece creates a ceremonial space for grief, resistance, and renewal.
Don’t Feed the Indians: A Divine Comedy Pageant!
A darkly satirical cabaret-style performance that interrogates the commodification of Indigenous culture in the entertainment industry. Developed with Safe Harbors NYC, the piece blends biting humor, musical numbers, and direct address to expose how Native identity is consumed, distorted, and erased in mainstream media
More Than Feathers and Beads
A powerful one-woman show that confronts the persistent stereotyping of Native women in popular culture. Originally developed and performed by Murielle Borst Tarrant, it was the only Native American production from the United States featured at the Sydney Opera House during the Festival of the Dreaming.
Spiderwoman Theater
Murielle served as Associate Director and dramaturge for Spiderwoman Theater, the longest-running Indigenous theater company in the U.S., founded by her family. She directed Muriel Miguel in Red Mother, which toured nationally and internationally.
Books & Writing
The Star Medicine
The first novel in Murielle’s speculative fiction series, The Star Medicine, marks a bold entry into Indigenous futurism and literary world-building.
Availability: Kindle edition on Amazon
Series Overview:
Set in a universe where ancestral knowledge is encoded in stars, dreams, and sacred technologies, The Star Medicine follows a young Indigenous protagonist as she uncovers her lineage, confronts spiritual forces, and learns to wield a power rooted in memory and resistance.
Teaching & Advocacy
Murielle’s teaching spans ensemble creation, Indigenous dramaturgy, and cultural leadership. She has taught and mentored artists across institutions and communities, including:
Assistant Professor of the Practice, Brown Arts Institute
Artistic Practitioner Fellow, CSREA
Faculty, National Institute on Directing & Ensemble Creation
Playwright Fellow, La MaMa Theater (Mellon Foundation, 6 years)
Founder and Artistic Director, Safe Harbors NYC (Reflections of Native Voices Conference, 2023)
Teaching Philosophy:
Murielle guides artists through processes that center relational storytelling, cultural specificity, and collaborative authorship. She cultivates environments where experimentation is grounded in legacy, and where performance becomes a tool for transformation.
Future Work & Calendar
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The Center
An ensemble-based work rooted in Indigenous dramaturgy and devised performance, part of Murielle’s Hamlet Project.
Status: In workshop development with Safe Harbors NYC. Public readings anticipated in 2025.
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Love Letters
A theatrical work exploring intimacy, memory, and cultural transmission through Indigenous love and longing.
Status: In early development.
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Two Women
A duet performance piece examining matriarchy, survival, and resistance. Influenced by Fernando Arrabal’s And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers, it centers women incarcerated for activism.
Status: In early development.
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Reflection of Native Voices Festival
Featuring Feast of Ghosts, this festival gathers Indigenous artists and cultural leaders.
Location: La MaMa Theater & New York Theatre Workshop, NYC
Dates: November 6–8, 2025
