STUDENTS COME FULL CIRCLE
Show celebrates indigenous program
Two years ago, the first students to take part in the wîcêhtowin Aboriginal Theatre Program at the University of Saskatchewan set up a teepee together at dawn. Nearly 50 people crammed into the structure for a pipe ceremony, followed by an opening feast.
As they near completion of the certificate program, the students will perform in the very same spot, marking the culmination of their experience.
“It’s a wonderful bit of closure,” said wîcêhtowin co-ordinator Carol Greyeyes. “Time has flown by. That sense of completion and fulfilment, coming full circle is the most rewarding thing.”
The class of wîcêhtowin, which means living together in harmony in Cree, will share what it has learned in a show called Reigniting the Fire. The performance incorporates scenes, playlets, movement and song in what Greyeyes describes as a theatrical collage.
Though Greyeyes, a Saskatoon theatre veteran, is listed as Reigniting the Fire’s director, she said her role was something more collaborative. The production is written, designed and performed by the students.
“A lot of it is me just pulling the pieces together. It’s a wonderful way to work. The program is called wîcêhtowin, which is a Cree word, and we’re trying to have the process mirror that value, which is working together and supporting one another,” she said.
Wanita Bird, one of four students graduating from wîcêhtowin this month, is a singer but was very shy and hated speaking in front of people. She hoped being part of a theatre program would help her come out of her shell.
She just returned from the Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg, where she and Joe Poor thunder took home the award for Best Peyote Album. Bird had been nominated in the past, but this was her first win.
“Before, whenever it would be my category, I would slink down in my seat and think ‘Please don’t call my name. I don’t want to win.’ I didn’t want to go up there and give a speech. This time I was able to go up there, be articulate and say what I wanted to say.”
Bird said wîcêhtowin has fed her in many ways. She wants to use those skills to help others and hopes to pursue a master’s in drama
Four students are graduating from an initial class of 11. Greyeyes said the students faced many challenges, including tuition costs.
“I feel really fortunate that these four have stuck it out through all kinds of family tragedies and work and not having funding,” she said.
Greyeyes will begin a new cohort of wîcêhtowin in the fall. The program is designed to accommodate 20 students. She hopes to see the number of participants grow.
“It is an investigation. I believe in the program and I think the students who are about to graduate believe in the program,” she said.
Reigniting the Fire runs from May 30 to June 2. The May 30 and 31 performances will take place on the lawn in front of the John Mitchell Building, weather permitting. The June 1 and 2 performances will take place inside Greystone Theatre.
It’s a wonderful bit of closure . ... That sense of completion and fulfilment, coming full circle is the most rewarding thing.
therapy in Montreal.
For Reigniting the Fire, Bird wrote a piece that drew on her life. It tells the story of a young, pregnant indigenous woman in an abusive relationship.
“She’s pretty feisty and flamboyant, pretty violent herself. That was me 18 years ago,” she said.
After finding a way out of her abusive relationship, Bird went on to become a support worker in safe houses for women. She incorporated both experiences into her script.
Bird said she’s enjoyed the creative process and being able to share a bit of herself.