Wild rice panel discussion now Nov. 26

A panel discussion at Market

Hall about the sowing and harvesting of wild rice in Pigeon Lake by a member of Curve Lake First Nation has been rescheduled for Nov. 26.

The discussion was planned for Market Hall on Nov. 14 but was cancelled due to a power outage that evening that covered much of Peterborough city and county.

The free talk is now taking place Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Market Hall.

The panel will include playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, who wrote the play Cottagers and Indians.

The play is about the controversy between the landowners on Pigeon Lake who are unhappy with the sowing of wild rice and the Indigenous man who sows and harvests the rice.

James Whetung is the real-life harvester of wild rice and member of Curve Lake First Nation who’s at the centre of the play; he will be on the panel as well.

So will Doug Williams, a Curve Lake elder and expert in First Nations Treaties. His newest book, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg: This is Our Territory, is a personal narrative of Curve Lake First Nation.

The panellists will speak on Nov. 26 about Cottagers and Indians and the issues related to treaty rights that are raised in the play.

The talk will be sponsored by the Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies at Trent University and by Public Energy.

The Tarragon Theatre (Toronto) production of Cottagers and Indians will be at Market Hall on Nov. 28 and 29, with shows at

12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day.

NOTE: For tickets go to www.publicenergy.ca