Imagining a Different
Kind of Future
Ty Defoe, Professor and Writer-in-Residence, uses dance, music, and the written word to unite people in exploring contemporary challenges through the lens of traditional culture, history, and values.
Clinical Assistant Professor and Writer-in-Residence Ty Defoe, MFA is a visionary in his field. But Defoe’s medium is sentient, and his outputs are new communities committed to what he calls “radical acceptance and radical care.”
“To me, building community relates to the concept of decolonizing, moving things into the center that have been historically invisible or forgotten,” Defoe said. “At Pace, I’m drawing upon a lot of Indigenous philosophies to imagine and create a different kind of future for our students.”
As a writer and interdisciplinary artist, Defoe’s award-winning work spans a range of genres and forms, from Indigenous activism to environmental justice, using dance, music, and the written word to unite people in exploring contemporary challenges through the lens of traditional culture, history, and values.
One such workshop occurred in November 2024, when, for the first time in Pace’s history, an Indigenous group from the Wampanoag Nation joined students, faculty, and staff to mark the National Day of Mourning, an annual demonstration to dispel myths surrounding the Thanksgiving story in the United States. In a university setting, especially one in New York City, such an event brings attention to Indigenous voices and practices that are often overlooked or misunderstood. This blending of academic space with cultural practice is rare and reflects Pace’s growing emphasis on inclusivity and cross-cultural understanding.
“Fostering civic engagement and collective action and bringing people together in new ways—this is why I’m here.”
—Ty Defoe
“Here we were, having this conversation, removing the chairs in Pace’s Art Gallery and standing in a circle together to hear Wampanoag traditional music and listen to life lessons,” Defoe said. “It was revolutionary.”
Another project Defoe is focused on at Pace is the Ground Beneath Our Feet, an experiential humanities research and curriculum initiative to connect Pace’s students to the stories of the places on which their classrooms sit.
The project’s objective, said Defoe, is to unite the Pace community through the exploration of its history. “Fostering civic engagement and collective actions and bringing people together in new ways—this is why I’m here.”
As a self-described shapeshifter, Defoe includes a wide range of genres and forms in his artistic endeavors: He is a playwright, poet, dancer, choreographer, musician, actor, puppeteer, weaver, educator, and activist dedicated to Indigenous, Two-Spirit and Trans communities, environmental justice movements, and decolonizing creative practices of all kinds.
Professors Emilie Zaslow, Ty Defoe, and Stephanie Hsu
Defoe previously taught Native and Indigenous Studies at Pace University for four years as an adjunct in American Studies, sharing his approaches to decolonizing the classroom with students and colleagues who have not known a Native American teacher or mentor before.
He received a Grammy for Best Native American Music Album for his work on Come to Me Great Mystery: Native American Healing Songs (2009). Additional awards include First Americans in the Arts, Global Indigenous Heritage Festival Award, Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, and a Jonathan Larson Grant.
His play, Firebird Tattoo, was published in The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays (Bloomsbury, 2021). Other playscripts include book and lyrics for the play Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon (with composer Tidtaya Sinutoke), In the Cards, Tick, Tick, River of Stone, Red Pine, Trail and Tears (with Dawn Avery), Ajijaak on Turtle Island (for puppets), and For the People (with Larissa FastHorse), the first Native-authored work to be produced on the Guthrie Theater mainstage. A new short play was recently performed as part of Microcosms: Works at the Intersection of Astrophysics and Theater (Public Theater and American Museum of Natural History).
Defoe is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He is the co-founder (with Larissa FastHorse) of the arts consulting entity Indigenous Direction, and a member of the art, theater, film, and design collective All My Relations, dedicated to Indigenizing and decolonizing all forms of artmaking.