Theme: Mother to Mirror, Mother to Mask

A TEDx event inside a residential facility in Arizona for 12-18 year old girls. Their average stay is one year, but many are not released until their 18th birthday, when they "age out". They are sent here from around the USA, referred by courts, schools, therapists, health insurers.

How can TEDx make an impact on these young lives? Two artists and two TEDx Organizers are testing one approach:

"Using their culture, identity and historical heritage as a backdrop, women of two generations explore woman to woman familial relationships. Mother is the bearer of culture - gifts, values, and morals passed through generations. What happens when those gifts are not necessarily worth receiving? When the offerings of Mother Earth seem nothing but a curse... how does a young woman keep up the with the cycle of life? How does she filter the gifts? And when does she, herself step into the identity of Mother and perform her role in a continuous cycle that doesn't end."

Mingus Mountain Academy
Prescott Valley, Arizona
United States

Melanie Sainz

"My Transformation" Melanie Sainz (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin) provides audiences with a blend of American history and social commentary that honors the authentic voice of generations past. Sainz has promoted understanding and respect for American Indian people and the overall human condition through social justice efforts locally, nationally, and internationally

Tascheena Kimberly Umanah Bulsara

"Shadow Gather" She a first generation U.S. American performance artist and entrepreneur. Bulsara’s performance focus from identity, immigrant family, and intercultural issues - giving a new perspective on the first generation mindset and the elusive American Dream of the 21st Century.