Lazarus Nance Letcher was born and raised in the Midwest. They’ve been performing for over twenty years, and love nothing more than sharing the stories of their people over the swell of strings. They currently live on Tiwa Pueblo land in New Mexico.

Laz is a Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies, wrapping up their dissertation, Chasing Ghosts: Memorializing Queer and Trans Lives in a Time of Spectacular Erasure — examining art and activism surrounding Pride, the AIDS epidemic, Transgender Day of Remembrance, and the work borne from their own survived lynching. You can find their writing in the magazine El Palacio and Condé Nast’s queer flagship them.

They are currently gathering supporters and collaborators to help document and retrace the route their ancestor took on the Underground Railroad, walking 150 miles from Missouri to Kansas in 2027. You can follow their journey through the archives and the preparation for their pilgrimage on their Substack.

Laz works as a disability justice trainer for Sins Invalid. They also provide freelance DEI consulting and give presentations like: the white supremacist history of transphobia, QTBIPOC untold stories, barriers to healthcare for transgender people of color, and Black liberation history. They are available for talks, panels, workshops, and interviews.

Laz plays string instruments, primarily the viola (the instrument of bad boys and cool kids). They’ve had the pleasure of touring the country and the world with the St. Olaf Orchestra and folk band Eileen & the In-Betweens. Museums around the country have showcased their work with Stages of Tectonic Blackness.

The Albuquerque Museum is showing the second STB film, The Arc of Return, from June 20th to October 18, 2026. The Tacoma Art Museum is currently presenting the latest iteration of STB Return to Blackdom as part of Blackness is…the Refusal to be Reduced, running from May 18, 2024, to March 14, 2027. Return to Blackdom is also featured in the New Mexico Museum of Art’s exhibit Rooted Strong: Visions of America from New Mexico from April 4, 2026 to September 7, 2026.  Laz also helped create the soundscapes for Nikesha Breeze’s 2026 Biennale of Sydney work, Living Histories, running from March 14th, 2026 - June 13, 2026.