{"id":468871,"date":"2026-09-19T08:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468871\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T08:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:20:09","slug":"lisjan-nation-lore-inspires-new-show-at-fairyland-puppet-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468871\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisjan Nation lore inspires new show at Fairyland Puppet Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was co-published with The Oaklandside.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Before it was a puppet show, \u201cHummingbird Saves Fire\u201d was a memory.<\/p>\n

For Deja Gould, historical preservation officer and language keeper for the Lisjan Nation, it was a ritual of her childhood \u2014 falling asleep to her mother\u2019s voice explaining how fire came into this world. She recalled her mother using different voices to distinguish each character, and how the detail was so vivid, it felt like she was really there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now Gould has helped adapt the story as a\u00a0puppetry show for Children\u2019s Fairyland in Oakland, part of a larger collaboration among Fairyland, the Lisjan Nation and the Sogorea Te\u2019 Land Trust<\/a>. \u201cHummingbird Saves Fire,\u201d an adaptation of the Lisjan fire creation story, will premiere Sept. 30 and run through Nov. 29.<\/p>\n

When Maria Rodriguez, lead creator with Fairyland\u2019s Puppet Theater, first heard about the idea of adapting a Lisjan story, she asked if there was a written version of a tale that she could use as the basis for a live production. Instead, she said, the Lisjan Nation brought in a storykeeper to recount it orally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the visual dynamics of fire,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI could see how it would work as a puppet show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A\u201cHummingbird Saves Fire\u201d opens Sept. 30 at Fairyland in Oakland. (Courtesy of Fairyland)<\/p>\n

The intimacy of a story preserved in memory drew her in, Rodriguez said, and she thinks it will draw in audiences too.<\/p>\n

The Sogorea Te\u2019 Land Trust<\/a>, based in Oakland, is an Indigenous women-led organization that works to return land to Indigenous stewardship in the East Bay. They work specifically with the Lisjan Nation, which is a confederation of Ohlone, Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok, Delta Yokut and Patwin peoples, whose ancestral territory spans five Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Napa and San Joaquin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The partnership between Fairyland and the Lisjan Nation dates to 2024, after Sogorea Te\u2019 Land Trust creative Director Ines Ixierda posted a social media image that altered Fairyland\u2019s entrance sign to read \u201cOhlone Land,\u201d to bring attention to the history of the land the amusement park occupies. The post circulated widely and eventually reached Fairyland staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt ended up getting back to Fairyland, of course, and we just fell in love with it,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018We want to do this every year. We want to make their Photoshop a reality.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Organizers<\/p>\n

\u201cHummingbird Saves Fire\u201d<\/p>\n

When: 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Sept. 30 to Nov. 29<\/p>\n

Where: Children\u2019s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave, Oakland<\/p>\n

Admission: Children $18 $20 adults<\/p>\n

Information: Fairyland.org<\/a><\/p>\n

The image eventually took life as an installation at the park; the altered sign has been displayed each fall beginning around Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day since 2024.<\/p>\n

From there, the work expanded into discussions about Fairyland programming and curriculum, which eventually led to the Puppet Theater stage. Ixierda said the focus shifted from a one-time gesture to an ongoing collaboration to include Indigenous-led stories in the institution\u2019s work. That has included adding Indigenous educational elements to Fairyland\u2019s curriculum, exploring ways to expand park access for Indigenous communities and, most recently, developing puppet shows based on Lisjan stories.<\/p>\n

Ixierda said the area Fairyland occupies was central to those conversations. It sits by Lake Merritt, which was once marshland that bordered Lisjan villages. Earlier versions of the Hummingbird story, she said, may have been told on that same land generations ago.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said the puppet show collaboration extends to the set design, which will incorporate the East Bay\u2019s natural settings, with depictions of native plants and a backdrop featuring Mount Diablo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s their story,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe worked very hard to do it as a partnership. We are just the vehicle bringing it to the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gould provided the narrative for the adaptation, which Rodriguez and the Fairyland team then crafted into a script. Rodriguez approached the adaptation with what she called her \u201cpuppet brain,\u201d thinking in movement, rhythm and visual storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could very much see the comedic elements that would make kids giggle,\u201d she said, \u201cbut also the deeper story that\u2019s there for the grown-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gould said that to her knowledge, the story has never been performed in this way before, existing for generations mainly in oral form within families. She said she is creating beadwork for the puppet costumes, incorporating traditional materials such as shells and nuts used in contemporary Indigenous jewelry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all wear modern shell and pine nut beads,\u201d she said, and the puppets will reflect that. Most of the collaborators involved in the production, including voice actors and set designers, Gould added, are Indigenous, including Lisjan and other California Native American participants. The project is also a homecoming to her own childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Oakland, going to Children\u2019s Fairyland was one of my favorite childhood memories,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone knows that Fairyland sign. Growing up, you never heard the word \u2018Ohlone\u2019 or hear Indigenous people talked about in the way they\u2019re being talked about now.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the project could be deeply meaningful for the children in the audience<\/p>\n

\u201cFairyland is very much showing up in the way of helping us in our representation and getting our voices heard,\u201d Gould said. \u201cKids understand things. A lot of people think they don\u2019t, but they catch on really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ixierda added that the work is grounded in place. Ixierda wants people to watch the show and understand that Indigenous people \u201cstill exist here in Oakland.\u201d There are around 100 total members of the Lisjan Nation, and those numbers are growing, Gould said.<\/p>\n

The Puppet Theater is 70 years old and Fairyland puppeteer and historian Randal Metz has worked at Fairyland for more than 50 of them. He said the theater, with its rotating repertoire of over 150 different stories, has long incorporated stories and performance traditions from a range of Oakland\u2019s cultures.<\/p>\n

\"AFairyland\u2019s Puppet Theater (Grace McCarty)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now more diverse than any other time in my life,\u201d Metz said. \u201cWe have to be in step with our communities because they like to see that their cultures are represented. \u2026 We are not just the old-fashioned Disney-type European fairytales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metz said his predecessor, Lewis Mahlmann, would look during his travels for stories and costumes he could adapt and bring to the theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only difference now is that we are very specifically working with the culture to make sure we\u2019re not putting our own interpretation on their story,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n

That evolution is also visible in Fairyland\u2019s bilingual programming, including bilingual storytelling boxes that have been narrating in English and Spanish since 2009. Spanish is increasingly heard throughout the park, among visiting families, and Fairyland has been working to reflect that shift.<\/p>\n

Fairyland\u2019s last bilingual puppet show<\/a>, \u201cHow the Coqu\u00ed Got Their Name,\u201d a Puerto Rican folktale that ran through May 28, was especially well-received, Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, who grew up in a Cuban immigrant household, said the goal was not to offer literal translations, but to weave both languages together naturally within the story\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just so important to me to bring a story that could be understood easily in both languages without being repetitive,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want it to just be one line in English and then the same line in Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

That approach has resonated with audiences, and particularly with bilingual families who, she said, have appreciated the representation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people from Puerto Rico who literally ran into the gift store,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my gosh, you\u2019re doing a story from Puerto Rico. That\u2019s where I\u2019m from. I\u2019m so excited.\u2019 You don\u2019t get that with Cinderella.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many children visiting Fairyland, the show may be the first time they encounter a story tied directly to the Indigenous people of Oakland.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully they\u2019ll know the story originated here,\u201d Gould said. \u201cThis story is from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Oakland second-hand shoppers, the White Elephant rummage sale is like Black Friday<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was co-published with The Oaklandside. Before it was a puppet show, \u201cHummingbird Saves Fire\u201d was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[177267,184509,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-468871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-childrens-fairyland","tag-lisjan-nation","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}