Burke Prize 2019 Indira Allegra (born c. 1980) is a multidisciplinary American artist and writer based in Oakland, California.
[1] Allegra has worked as a sign language interpreter, domestic violence advocate, union organizer, teaching artist, and in the service industry.
Allegra has said that her mother's family is "Black— descendants of mixed tribal origin from peoples along the west coast of Africa who were forced into chattel slavery on Cherokee, Chicasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Natchez land."
They work in a variety of genres and media, including performative craft, poetry, dance, weaving, sculpture, assemblage, and site-specific installations.
[32] Their work has been anthologized in Dear Sister,[33] Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California[34] and Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature[35] among others.