A tale of dealing and healing
One man’s reconciliation journey told with tears and humour
The collective quest for a better future plays a big part in the reconciliation process taking place across Canada between Indigenous people and the government. Right alongside this process there is also the dialogue taking place between Indigenous groups around their collective shared experiences of colonization. It is resulting in an explosion of art around the topic — and a lot of it is, understandably, pretty heavy.
“First Nations people in Canada have been reconciling for a long time, dating back to the first treaties and before,” said Renae Morriseau. “It’s time that Canadians learn that they have been lied to about history, and also about how we have employed certain strategies and ways to deal with this.”
Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way is a new theatre piece created in the Downtown Eastside co-written by Morriseau (Saulteaux Cree), Rosemary Georgson (Coast Salish/Sahtu Dene) and Savannah Walling (American-Canadian) which employs a number of these strategies for dealing and healing in its script. A one-act play with live music and projections, the piece incorporates Indigenous storytelling, cultural teachings and languages, as well as an ancient stick game know as slahal to tell a story of a journey. The show intends to “give voice to those who have lived within the legislation of the Indian Act and Canada’s long shadow of colonialism. It is a story shared across Canada and Turtle Island (North America).”
It’s a story that isn’t all about tears — yes, there will be laughter.
“I think that a key part of the journey it takes to move through the stories of residential schools and on to healing is our sense of humour,” said Morriseau. “And in each of our groups, we have a traditional trickster character who is there to interpret the absurdity of Canadian government policies and legislation. Those effects are awfully sad, but also absurd, and the Trickster rides the borders between it all.”
Actor Sam Bob plays Trickster in the one-act play about Old One (Jonathan Fisher) and his quest to reconcile with his life, family and community. As Old One journeys, such topics as the effects of intergenerational trauma on his daughter Nicole (Tai Amy Grauman) and other issues arise. Every performance is staged around a circle divided into four quadrants, representing the sacred hoop, and brings in unscripted parts from youth and knowledge keepers from the host territory.
The title of the show is all about noting the uniqueness of each performance as the piece tours from Coast Salish territory (Vancouver) to Syilx (Penticton), Treaty 13 (Toronto), and Treaty 1 and Metis homelands (Winnipeg).
“The three of us created the piece over about three years working together and with a lot of contributions from people in the community,” she said. “We wanted something that looked at how our cultural practices have healing qualities and that could also deepen who we are. Let’s look at things like our songs and dances for what they are to us, not what an academic tells us they are.”