Top Stories - June - 2001 Published June 4, 2001 Kelsey Wolver (left) and Jenelle Wilson entertained at the launching of the Alberta Employer ToolKit, an offshoot of a federal initiative, at the Provincial Museum on May 24. The handbook helps brings together industry and Aboriginal employees and organizations. Photo by Trina Gobért Esquao awards gala attracts hundreds Aboriginal playwrights in demand Northern graduates celebrate traditionally This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the June 2001 issue of Alberta Sweetgrass. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sweetgrass, then you have missed out on a lot. Esquao awards gala attracts hundreds By Kenton Friesen Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON Métis woman Colleen Klein was the guest of honor at the sixth annual Esquao Awards held May 24. The wife of Premier Ralph Klein received the first-ever Circle of Honor Award for her work in improving the lives of Alberta's children as a committed volunteer. "Always remember that we will be known forever by the tracks that we leave," said Mrs. Klein in an emotional acceptance speech. "And we still have a lot of tracks to leave by working together." Adrian Stimson Jr., a long-time family friend, spoke of her involvement as a director of the Siksika Nation youth entrepreneurship program. "I know it meant a lot to the youth when Colleen would join us in activities or bring supplies to build a garden. In fact, when the weather was bad and the rain was hurricane status, she was there, in her goulashes and rain coat, planting alongside the kids. This is dedication." Altogether, 24 Native women nominated by their communities were honored at the Esquao Gala hosted by the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women. In addition to the Circle of Honor award, categories of achievement and the recipients are as follows: Arts and Entertainment-Delilah Dwyer; Business-Nicole Bourque and Sandra Cardinal; Community Involvement-Pearl Auger, Bonnie Belhumeur, Karen Bruno, Sheila Courtorielle, Annette Cutknife, Ester Giroux, Nora Flett, Stephanie Jensen, Marie McLeod, Evelyn Norberg and Eleanor Sawan; Health, Medicine and Culture-Emily Hunter, Brenda Holder and Leona Beaulieu; Mentor/Lifetime Achievement-Joyce Parenteau, Marge Mueller, Octavie L'Hirondelle-Calihoo and Amanda Boisvert; and Youth Role Model-Ginny Lee Collins and Jessica Clark. "A male council member I was talking to about coming to this event tonight asked me, 'How come there is no recognition and awards for men, just women?' And I thought about it for a while and said, "Isn't it obvious by now? Can't you see which group of people get things done, get things moving?" said Alexander First Nation Chief Victoria Arcand. The women receiving the awards were united by volunteer work performed for the benefit of their respective communities without the goal of glory or recognition. "It is probably the most special type of recognition that I have ever received and it means the most to me because it comes from my peers," said Nora Flett from Fort McMurray. "We just all recognize different ways that we can try to do a small thing to make things better. You see a need, you've got some time and you try to do what you can to help." The award celebration was a time of eating fine food, listening to inspirational speeches and hilarious entertainment and seeing awards handed out. Entertainer of note was Derric Starlight, who had the audience laughing uncontrollably with his voice imitations and puppets. A silent auction was held in the foyer, where almost 100 donated items including paintings, coats, rounds of golf and jackets were sold to raise funds. "I can't tell you how astounded I was to see the size of the crowd," said Premier Klein. He recalled the first awards ceremony six years ago when about 60 people gathered in the Howard Johnson Hotel. Ten times that number packed Edmonton's Westin Hotel ballroom this year, including many Elders, chiefs and MLAs. "With our hands joined, we will continue to stand firm in our resolve; we will continue doing whatever needs doing, whether it ever gets recognized or not," said Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitrais. "And we will do it because that's the way we are as Aboriginal women." Top

Aboriginal playwrights in demand By Bruce Weir Sweetgrass Writer CALGARY When Robin Melting Tallow and Shane Cunningham put out a call for new scripts by Aboriginal artists, they were looking for contemporary works to serve as the centrepiece for Crazy Horse Theatre's Aboriginal Playwrights Festival. What they got was not only several new plays, but also confirmation that their Calgary festival was answering a pent-up demand. "We were totally shocked at the response," said Cunningham, who in addition to acting and producing at the festival serves as Crazy Horse's artistic director. "We were thinking we would get local playwrights-initially we had a local concept. We never expected to get the number of scripts we did. It was a fulfilling experience because we realized there is a need out there for Aboriginal theatre companies, especially in Alberta." Executive Director Melting Tallow and Cunningham formed Crazy Horse Theatre with Calgary actor Steve Gin, who left the company in 1999. Cunningham said the idea of creating an Aboriginal playwrights festival came in part from the difficulty they were having finding plays to include in Crazy Horse's second season. They knew Aboriginal writers were producing interesting scripts, but because not a lot of them were published they were difficult to track down. "We decided what would make our jobs a lot easier as well as meet our mandate-which is to help new Aboriginal artists-was to do the festival and create a library for ourselves and other Aboriginal companies to draw from," Cunningham recalled. With 14 scripts submitted from playwrights across the country, Cunningham and Melting Tallow's first job was to select plays for the festival. The results were seen over four nights beginning May 21, as the festival presented staged readings of 10 works and concluded with a full production of Misty Lake, featuring Tantoo Cardinal and Tina Keeper. Cunningham said the scripts were chosen, in part, to present a contemporary portrait of Aboriginal people that is too often ignored. "One thing the media doesn't explore a lot is the fact that we have relationships. How many times do you see a Aboriginal couple that is happy and in love? That isn't dealing with alcohol, that isn't dealing with abuse problems, that is just a happy couple in love?" He adds that the plays do deal with issues-including Oka, residential schools, and the high percentage of Natives in prison-but these issues form the backdrop for the main drama of simple relationships that allow Aboriginal audiences to see their own experiences onstage. The festival brought experienced Aboriginal directors in to work with actors who had a range of experience from the old pros like Cardinal and Keeper to local amateurs and those with experience in television but not in theatre. Along the way, Cunningham also gained some valuable experience. It was the first time he had served as a producer and he was grateful for the support of Crazy Horse's volunteers, the local theatre community and the presence of Melting Tallow and local actor Michelle Thrush. Thrush co-wrote one of the plays, directed another and was instrumental in recruiting many of the actors. Crazy Horse plans to produce the festival every two years and to create a library of the scripts on the Internet. The hope is that other companies will produce these plays and that some of the playwrights will see their work published. It seems that, in addition to creating a successful theatre festival, Melting Tallow and Cunningham just might have made their lives easier-they expect to include some of the plays featured at the festival in Crazy Horse's upcoming season. Top Northern graduates celebrate traditionally By Curtis J. Phillips Sweetgrass Writer FORT McMURRAY "When I went to school I didn't like school. I just wanted to get in and get out. But now the world has changed a bit. You just can't quit in Grade 10 and expect to get a great job. Even Grade 12 may not be good enough . . . you have to get a post-secondary education of some sort. It is important to stay in school." -1997 NHL Coach of the Year, Ted Nolan Those words from keynote speaker Ted Nolan were directed to 43 graduating Aboriginal students at the fourth annual Traditional Celebration of Achievement held in Fort McMurray on May 4. The students are from the following five First Nations: Fort McKay, Athabasca Chipewyan, Mikisew Cree, Fort McMurray #468, and Chipewyan Prairie. Three hundred people attended the event, held at C.A. Knight Recreation Centre on MacDonald Island. Graduates were presented with an eagle feather and a commemorative plaque. Following the presentation, four members of the Red River Singers and Dancers played an honor song. But it was the words of Nolan that brought the message of education home. "You don't have to have the fanciest computer at home to be smart, or the best and most expensive hockey skates to be a good hockey player. You just have to believe in yourself and work hard," said Nolan, 42, an Ojibway from the Garden River Reserve east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. "Work hard and good things will happen." Nolan, who played 10 years of professional and semi-professional hockey with brief stints with the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, also told the graduating students not to believe in what other people say. "People will put restrictions on you. They will say you are not big enough, not smart enough. If you want it bad enough you will make it." Nolan, who has children of his own approaching graduation age, admits that he was no "angel" in school. "I was just like anyone else. I had my problems growing up. When you are young there will be parties where there will be booze and drugs but somewhere along the line, some point in your life, you will have to make the decision to say no." Irene Loutitt, a Native education liaison worker for the Fort McMurray Catholic school district and a key individual in the founding of this event, said Nolan was an excellent speaker and well received. "It's so important that the Aboriginal students see role models like him," said Loutitt, who added that there are many role models locally but it's nice to bring in a nationally recognized individual. "This event really promotes the idea of completing their Grade 12 not only for the graduates but younger kids," said Loutitt, a Métis who speaks fluent Cree. "I have kids in grades 9, 10 and 11 saying they can hardly wait to attend. "My brother went to it the first year but it's a lot bigger now," said graduate Kyle Spohn, 18. "It means a lot to us to see that our success is recognized. It does not take away from our regular grad . . . the only difference here is that the faces are more familiar and there is more extended family." Spohn, a Chipewyan, plans to attend Camrose's Augustana University College to major in psychology. Seventeen-year-old Kathy Nokohoo, also of Chipewyan heritage, similarly plans to continue her post-secondary education. "I plan to attend Mount Royal College for my first year for the university transfer program for my degree in computer engineering. Then I'll transfer to University of Calgary. "This grad means a lot. They took the time to recognize us and that gives us more confidence." A graduate from last year, Jimmy Noskye, also a member of the Red River Singers and Dancers, spoke to the graduates on the importance of education and of not loosing sight of culture and tradition. Tribute from the parents came from Pat Flett. The 43 graduates are Joanne Anikina, Paula Bailey, Jennifer Bannerholt, Nicole Barry, Miranda Beaton, Travis Beaver, Justin Cardinal, Nicole Cardinal, Christopher Cockerill, Charles Cote, Gabriel Delisle, Nathon Dionne, Bryce Faichney, Rebecca Flett, Paul Fitzpatrick, Justin Foster, Jamie Forbister, Amy Fraser, J.J. Grandjambe, Myrnie House, Lynette Huppie, Glen Janvier, Mitch Janvier, Dwayne Lauson, Lori-Anne Laviolette, Ryan MacNeil, Tasha McEachern, Tasha Miller, Ashley Morice, Kathy Nokohoo, Sharon Poland, Sophie Powder, Tyler Schleen, Samantha Schultz, Kyle Spohn, Melissa Taylor, Robert Tourangeau, Tannis Tralnberg, Darryl Tremblay, Brandin Walker, Kelly Warawa, Jennifer Wilson and Jesse Woodward. The three-hour evening celebration ended with a round dance. Top