Isabella Madrigal is an enrolled member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and of Turtle Mountain Chippewa descent. She is the playwright, director, and actress of Ménil and Her Heart. This year she graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts under the Acting Conservatory and will be headed to Harvard this fall.
Madrigal has spoken at the 2019 United Nations’ Girls Speak Out Event discussing violence against Indigenous women. She and her sister, Sophia Madrigal, are co-founders of the Native Storytelling Project, which supports Native storytellers.
“Ménil and Her Heart” has been raising awareness for the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls for the past couple of years, simultaneously paving the way for other Indigenous artists and storytellers.
“I’m so honored to have received the Heart of Inlandia Award. Especially for “Ménil and Her Heart,” which is a project and a play that is so close to my heart. Within my community I’ve seen a lot of healing done through storytelling, and I think that’s what it all comes down to,” Madrigal says upon winning the award.
The Heart of Inlandia Award honors individuals of the Inland Empire whose work adds exceptional value to the local literary and arts community. This award was established in honor of Inlandia founder Marion Mitchell-Wilson, who was the heart of Inlandia.
The Inlandia Institute is a regionally-focused literary nonprofit and publishing house celebrating the region in word, image, and sound.
Visit Madrigal’s website to learn more about her work: https://www.isabellamadrigal.com/team.
For more information, visit www.inlandiainstitute.org
