Top News - April - 2003
Plays popular at Woodland Cultural Centre
Southern Ontarians unite on water quality issues
Little NHL concludes another successful year
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Plays popular at Woodland Cultural Centre
Julie Adam, Birchbark Writer, Brantford
On March 2, the Woodland Cultural Centre presented An Afternoon of Readings, which featured three, one-act plays by Six Nations playwrights ElizaBeth Hill, Yvonne Beaver and Ken Davis. Tom Hill, director of the Woodland Cultural Centre, served as master of ceremonies. Lorne Cardinal, Cheri Maracle-Cardinal and Tim Hill read several acts each, helped along by three young performers from the Six Nations Community Youth Outreach Drama Troupe: Everett Jacobs, Jason Martin and Jessie Anthony.
Before a play makes it onto the stage, it is rehearsed many times. It may also be "workshopped;" that is, read and performed, discussed among the actors and the director, and rewritten-by the playwright-to create the most effective version Sometimes a play is given a reading before an audience, actors speaking their lines without the benefit of sets, costumes, or even what we would normally think of as acting.
When you experience the words of a playwright without the non-verbal embellishments, you have to conjure up those theatrical elements yourself. Strong playwriting and effective play reading will make that creative activity not only possible, but enjoyable.
The plays ranged from light farcical comedy through social commentary to visionary history. The topics reflected this wide range: psychiatry and mental illness, Native spirituality, war, homosexuality, family dynamics, racism, water management, sexism, Elders, female heroism, sexual stereotyping and culural colonialism.
The afternoon began with ElizaBeth Hill's Wooly's Umbrella, a highly imaginative play with a serious premise and comic overtones. Portraying the clash between the "white" psychiatric establishment and Native spirituality, it raised some very important questions, such as, "Who is the patient and who is the doctor?", "What does it mean to be sane?", "How can one culture dictate to another culture its spiritual values?", and "If the mind is like an umbrella-it functions best when open-how far can it be forced before it breaks?"
It is a truly provocative play by an accomplished artist, writer and performer.
Next came Beaver's play, Crossroads, an historical drama of mythical proportions and mystical themes. The most difficult and poetic of the three plays, it would present an exciting creative challenge to any theatre group staging it. Beaver has said about the central female character, Aginwa, that she prefers "to let her audience decide who she is. She does embody the characteristics of a number of historic and mythical women and can therefore be seen as representative of one of the universal figures of women." Beaver's interest in fantasy fiction, with its sweeping landscapes and larger-than-life heroes and heroines, was evident in Crossroads, her first play. The story of Aginwa, the nurturing female figure, mother to warriors, standing in the crossroad between war and peace, is a fitting play for our time.
The afternoon's entertainment wrapped up with Davis' plaly Too Spirited, a seemingly light comedy about a two-spirited youth, Devon Morningstar, who is not quite sure how to "come out" to his family, including his wise grandma, and what to do with his lover.
Davis, who recently completed a stint as a writer on APTN's Buffalo Tracks, has written a lively piece that plays on stereotypes of sexual orientation, masculinity, femininity and generational dynamics, and has great audience appeal.
Davis is submitting Too Spirited to Native Earth Performing Arts Inc. The 20-year-old company's festival of new works, Weesageechak Begins to Dance, takes place in October 2003. Aptly named after Weesageechak, the shape-shifting trickster (aka the Coyote and the Raven), the festival develops new pieces for Aboriginal theatre and dance.
The actors did a wonderful job of making the playwrights' words come alive, enabling the listeners to envision each play in the spirit in which it was written. The afternoon was very well attended, with the audience following the actors' words with rapt attention. Musical interludes by Chad Henhawk and catering by Janice Henry added to the sensory experience.
The organizers said the Six Nations Writers group have set out to write their own stories in all genres, in their own words, and clear up some of the historic misconceptions that have made their way into public perception through decades of non-Native fictionalizing and falsifying Native life and values.
The Afternoon of Readings' presentations of the three plays Too Spirited, Crossroads and Wooly's Umbrella were an impressive testament to their creative diversity.
Southern Ontarians unite on water quality issues
Roberta Avery, Birchbark Writer, Owen Sound
Although Leanne Simpson has an impressive string of academic qualifications behind her name and is the director of Indigenous environmental studies at Trent University, her role at a recent environmental forum in Owen Sound was not as an expert.
Her last-minute attendance at the Great Lakes Water Conference held March 28 to 30 was to bring a traditional Water Ceremony to the forum, which explored shoreline and water quality issues of the Great Lakes. Simpson filled in when Edna Manitowabi an Elder and advisor at Trent, was unable to go.
"She sent me to do the water ceremony instead; she is the only person who could have asked me to do this," said Simpson.
Simpson's heritage is Ojibway. She is from the Alderville First Nation, north of Coburg, but she grew up off the reserve in the town of Wingham.
"I wanted to share with the forum how Ojibway women relate to Mother Earth and that water is the life blood that flows through Mother Earth," said Simpson.
About 50 people-conservationists, politicians, academics and representatives of the local First Nations-gathered in a circle under the grass as Simpson placed an abalone shell on a blanket on the ground and sat back on her heels to explain the meaning of the ceremony.
"Women in our culture are the water carriers, and as such have great respect for water," said Simpson.
"A pregnant woman carries her baby for nine months in her womb in water, and that helps tie us to the importance of water.
"This is why our people and our Elders are so concerned about what is happening to the water," she said.
She thanked the people of the Saugeen Fist Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash for being "protectors of this land for such a long time."
The ceremony concluded with all those present holding out a glass to receive water and drinking it before shaking hands.
The forum heard that Lake Huron, with its sandy shores and islands of the west coast of Grey Bruce County and its rocky escarpment shores of the east coast of Grey Bruce is the area's dominant water feature. The Lake Huron shoreline and all the rivers and streams feeding it, the inland lakes and wetlands feeding it, and underground aquifers of groundwater are all linked elements in the whole ecological web of life in Grey Bruce and beyond.
The groups discussed how to get to the core of what needs to be done in moving the Grey Bruce area along to comprehensive ecological planning.
"It was impressive to see First Nation leaders and mayors get together to tackle this important topic," said Simpson.
Little NHL concludes another successful yearKerry Assiniwe, Birchbark Writer, Sudbury
Another successful Little Native Hockey League tournament has come and gone in Ontario.
The Little NHL, as it is most commonly referred to, began 32 years ago with four days of good hockey for youth of all ages.
This year's tournament, which concluded March 13 in Sudbury, saw 113 teams take to the ice at various arenas throughout the region.
Every year, the tournament is hosted by a different First Nation; this year it was the Sagamok Anishnawbek from Massey.
According to the tournament's co-ordinator, Michael Abitong, this year's theme, Uniting the Nations Through the Spirit of Hockey, was a representation of the diverse Aboriginal nations that make up Ontario.
"The sharing of the Crees and the Ojibwes and the Mohawks. They play the games and they are sharing. And then again, it's a totally different thing when they come off the ice, again a sharing takes place . . . sharing and respecting one another . . . it's very important in this tournament."
He explained that on the ice, when they play hockey, they share the spirit of the game and when they come off, they share that experience together and respect each other's efforts in playing the best game they could.
Abitong expressed the importance of this sharing and respect in that these qualities are traditional Anishinabek teachings. So, exposing players to that at young ages helps set a direction in their lives.
"Those are the kids that are going to be carrying on tradition. We have kids that are as young as four years old."
This is the goal that every organizer of the Little NHL tries to achieve every year. According to Abitong, the event is about hockey, but even more about the lessons that can be instilled in young players through the game.
Abitong says the focus is to ensure they all feel like winners, despite the final scores. And that is achieved through the "pats on the backs" for a job or efforts done well.
"Some teams do come out as losers . . . but they are still happy that they were part of the tournament."
Being part of an event like this isn't just a moment of pride and happiness for the young hockey players, but for the adults as well.
Abitong said when he saw the people in the stands watching the games, his heart was filled with joy. Many of the people who came into Sudbury for the tournament travelled hours from their small rural reserves, just to be a part of the Little NHL.
"I've never seen a tournament run this well . . . and I cry for that. People will never forget this tournament when they leave here. . . they'll be happy."
Little NHL executive committee president, George Francis, shares this view. He pointed out that to be successful, an event relies heavily on volunteers. Most volunteers had never been part of an event of this magnitude.
"The volunteers were something else . . . if you don't have them, you don't have anything."
Abitong agreed.
"They deserve a pat on the back. No matter how much work they do, one hour, two hours, three hours . . . every hour counts."
With this year's tournament now over, there is a sense of sadness for those who were a part of it. But at the same time, there is also a sense of anticipation and excitement. The 'staff' has been officially passed to the M'Chigeeng First Nation from Manitoulin Island. It is the next community with the honor of hosting the Little NHL, one year from now in Sault Ste. Marie.
