BSNC congratulates shareholder Kira Apaachuaq Eckenweiler on the premiere of her play, The Bird BLind, that opened on April 22, 2026, at New Native Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Bird Blind is an unflinching and compassionate story set in an Inupiaq village on Alaska’s Norton Sound. As generations clash, addictions simmer, and the tundra bears silent witness, a young boy and a troubled hunter expand the meaning of kinship in a makeshift bird blind. With razor-sharp dialogue and cultural truth, Eckenweiler weaves a play that is both a gut punch and a prayer, revealing how even burdened people can find their way home.
New Native Theater is known for discovering and developing Native writers; following in that tradition, this new play was directed by Artistic Director, Rhiana Yazzie.
Eckenweiler was raised in Unalakleet, Alaska. She is the daughter of Gary and Willa Eckenweiler. Her maternal grandparents are the late Clarence Sr. and Guerie Towarak of Unalakleet, and her paternal grandparents are the late John and Neta Eckenweiler of Montana.
Eckenweiler graduated from Unalakleet Schools before earning a Bachelor of Music from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2020. She is a performer, playwright, and storyteller who enjoys both opera and musical theater. When she is home in Alaska, Eckenweiler enjoys hunting, fishing, gathering, and spending time on the land. Through her playwriting, she seeks to reflect the beauty, resilience, and rich traditions of life in rural Alaska.
Learn more: newnativetheater.org/the-bird-blind