Allison Hicks 

Candidate Biography 

Allison Hudson Hicks is an enrolled member of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation and is also of Choctaw descent. She is an actor, mother, wife and community member. She is a Trustee on the Board of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Hicks also served as a co-chair of the National Council of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She recently performed at the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., Theatre for Young Audiences New Visions/New Voices Festival, where she appeared as Mom/Susette Primeau in Return to Niobrara by Mary Kathryn Nagle, and as Maricela in Forever Poppy, by Jose Cruz Gonzalez. Los Angeles credits include Behind the Ides (Lounge Theatre, Hollywood), the world premiere of Bingo Hall (Native Voices) and numerous other roles at Native Voices at the Autry, where she is an ensemble member. Regional credits include lead roles in Stories from Indian Boarding Schools (touring) and Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sliver of a Full Moon (touring). She holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of California, Irvine. 

Candidate Statement 

I am interested in serving on the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission because I feel that I can contribute to the mission of advocating for Native Americans residing in Los Angeles County. I am an enrolled member of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, and I have deep ties to the Native American community here in Los Angeles County, where I have lived my entire life. My parents moved to Los Angeles from Arizona during the BIA Relocation Program in the 1950s, and I am now raising my children (enrolled citizens of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and also descendants of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi) here in Los Angeles County. I worked for the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California as the Statewide Administrator for many years, serving as a liaison between Tribal governments, corporate and governmental agencies and American Indian business owners. Currently, I am proud to be a Trustee on the Board of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, located both in Washington, D.C. and New York City, NY. Our mission is to advance the true history of Native Americans and promote the understanding of Native American cultures. We support Native artists, education initiatives for K-12 education, cultural activities and the repatriation of important cultural objects back to tribes. In Los Angeles, I am currently pursuing my career as an actor and writer, while concentrating on amplifying the Native voice in theatre. Traditionally, actual Native American actors rarely have the opportunity to portray Native Americans on stage. My aim is to help create a vibrant, active Native American artistic community in the local, regional and national theatre. My overall goal is to assure that Native Americans have a growing presence in Los Angeles and that our community programs are supported.