Talking Stick

For two decades we have entertained audiences, trained artists, launched many artistic careers, developed new works and brought the voice of Aboriginal artists to the forefront. We are extremely proud of this accomplishment and to commemorate this, we will be celebrating our past and looking forward to our next 20 years during this very special gala celebration. Located in the hub of our Retrospective exhibit, explore and reminisce with us over hors d'oeurves and entertainment!

Written and performed by Reneltta Arluk. Directed by Kathleen Weiss.
Meaning "tracks" in Inuktitut, TUMIT is a one-woman show that follows the journey of Sarah, a young woman from the North, who finds herself alone with a big decision to make. Set in an apartment, Sarah discovers she is pregnant after kicking out her husband for being an alcoholic. Unsure of what to do, Sarah packs to move. As she packs, memories are stirred reaching into her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. In this one-act play, Sarah re-visits her greatest joys and faces her greatest pains with a little help from some family.

This promises to be an exciting piece of new Northern theatre by actor/writer Reneltta Arluk, (Inuk/Dene).

Warning: Recommended for ages 16 and up. Please note there is some coarse language and mature content.

Producer, Director, Writing, Cinematography and Editing: Amos Scott
Camera, Editing, Motion Graphics: Riel Stevenson-Burke
Additional Cinematography: Dave Kellett, Pablo Saravanja, Lesley Johnson, Kevin Kliegbiel

Dene A Journey is a documentary television series and it is the story of 7 people from the Northwest Territories taking on individual journeys of discovering their cultures and re-defining their self. It is a short trek through life with humour, hard work, frustrations and joy. And as the desire to understand one’s own culture becomes a reality, each character starts to embody a new way of navigating their life as modern indigenous.  From an urban dweller to the bush and then back to the city, Dene A Journey is a realization of one self. 

All 6 episodes will be screened over 3 evenings - Wednesday Feb 20, Friday Feb 22 & Saturday Feb 23

Episode 1: 'A Modern Tlicho Life'. Mason Mantla heads to a winter-camp and lives in bush tent at minus forty degrees. He wants to connect to his traditions so he can be a better father to his daughter.

Episode 2: 'A Special Place'. Singer-songwriter Leela Gilday longs to speak her language. She ends up elbow deep in a stinky moose-hide making adventure in Deline.

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

http://ncsmedia.ca/

Written and performed by Reneltta Arluk. Directed by Kathleen Weiss.
Meaning "tracks" in Inuktitut, TUMIT is a one-woman show that follows the journey of Sarah, a young woman from the North, who finds herself alone with a big decision to make. Set in an apartment, Sarah discovers she is pregnant after kicking out her husband for being an alcoholic. Unsure of what to do, Sarah packs to move. As she packs, memories are stirred reaching into her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. In this one-act play, Sarah re-visits her greatest joys and faces her greatest pains with a little help from some family.

This promises to be an exciting piece of new Northern theatre by actor/writer Reneltta Arluk, (Inuk/Dene).

Warning: Recommended for ages 16 and up. Please note there is some coarse language and mature content.

Gather with us in our 'lounge' after the opening of TUMIT for drinks, conversation and live music. 

PAY-WHAT–YOU–CAN

Written and performed by Reneltta Arluk. Directed by Kathleen Weiss.
Meaning "tracks" in Inuktitut, TUMIT is a one-woman show that follows the journey of Sarah, a young woman from the North, who finds herself alone wit h a big decision to make. Set in an apartment, Sarah discovers she is pregnant after kicking out her husband for being an alcoholic. Unsure of what to do, Sarah packs to move. As she packs, memories are stirred reaching into her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. In this one-act play, Sarah re-visits her greatest joys and faces her greatest pains with a little help from some family.

This promises to be an exciting piece of new Northern theatre by actor/writer Reneltta Arluk, (Inuk/Dene).

Warning: Recommended for ages 16 and up. Please note there is some coarse language and mature content.

The 1491s is a sketch comedy group, based in the wooded ghettos of Minnesota and buffalo grass of Oklahoma. They are a gaggle of Indians chock full of cynicism and splashed with a good dose of indigenous satire. They coined the term All My Relations, and are still waiting for the royalties. They were at Custer’s Last Stand. They mooned Chris Columbus when he landed. They invented bubble gum. The 1491s teach young women how to be strong. And… teach young men how to seduce these strong women.

Meaning "tracks" in Inuktitut, TUMIT is a one-woman show that follows the journey of Sarah, a young woman from the North, who finds herself alone with a big decision to make. Set in an apartment, Sarah discovers she is pregnant after kicking out her husband for being an alcoholic. Unsure of what to do, Sarah packs to move. As she packs, memories are stirred reaching into her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. In this one-act play, Sarah re-visits her greatest joys and faces her greatest pains with a little help from some family.

This promises to be an exciting piece of new Northern theatre by actor/writer Reneltta Arluk, (Inuk/Dene).

Warning: Recommended for ages 16 and up. Please note there is some coarse language and mature content.

For the whole family! Jigging, fiddling, and dancing! An evening not to be missed!
The fast stepping jigging routine of Sagkeeng’s Finest led them to be crowned winners of Canada’s Got Talent. Hailing from the Sagkeeng First Nation (Manitoba), Vince O’Laney, 17, and brothers Brandon, 18, and Dallas Courchene, 17, blend traditional jigging with modern, clogging and tap styles, which has created a unique and infectious style of upbeat dance. They are joined by Wesley Hardisty, a fiddler / guitarist/ composer, whose blend of rock, folk, Celtic and Métis music is unique. Still in his teens, his debut CD won the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Fiddle CD. The Louis Riel Metis Dancers will round out the evening with hand-clapping, foot-stomping social dancing accompanied by award-winning singer/songwriter JJ Lavalee (Winnipeg) and his back-up band.

Producer, Director, Writing, Cinematography and Editing: Amos Scott
Camera, Editing, Motion Graphics: Riel Stevenson-Burke
Additional Cinematography: Dave Kellett, Pablo Saravanja, Lesley Johnson, Kevin Kliegbiel

Dene A Journey is a documentary television series and it is the story of 7 people from the Northwest Territories taking on individual journeys of discovering their cultures and re-defining their self. It is a short trek through life with humour, hard work, frustrations and joy. And as the desire to understand one’s own culture becomes a reality, each character starts to embody a new way of navigating their life as modern indigenous.  From an urban dweller to the bush and then back to the city, Dene A Journey is a realization of one self. 

All 6 episodes will be screened over 3 evenings - Wednesday Feb 20, Friday Feb 22 & Saturday Feb 23

Episode 3: 'Real Gwich'in Spirit'. Sisters Tania and Nina Larsson are itch'n to be Gwich'in in the Mackenzie Delta. They left France to learn who they are as Aboriginal Canadians.

Episode 4: 'Buffalo's Return'. Joseph Buffalo-MacDonald returns to the North after years of skateboarding in the city. He's back in the bush looking for a sense of peace.

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

http://ncsmedia.ca/

Led by "East Van ghetto poet" Zaccheus Jackson (who has twice represented Vancouver and Western Canada at the Individual World Poetry Slam), a selection of this country's best independent musicians and slam poets going head to head! 

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

Don't miss this chance to hear some of our favourite stories told by some of B.C.'s preeminent storytellers. Engaging! Intimate! Share in the passing on of our oral traditions. Perfect for all ages and for the whole family.

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

Producer, Director, Writing, Cinematography and Editing: Amos Scott
Camera, Editing, Motion Graphics: Riel Stevenson-Burke
Episode 5 Lead Editor: Jessica Strothard
Additional Cinematography: Dave Kellett, Pablo Saravanja, Lesley Johnson, Kevin Kliegbiel

Dene A Journey is a documentary television series and it is the story of 7 people from the Northwest Territories taking on individual journeys of discovering their cultures and re-defining their self. It is a short trek through life with humour, hard work, frustrations and joy. And as the desire to understand one’s own culture becomes a reality, each character starts to embody a new way of navigating their life as modern indigenous.  From an urban dweller to the bush and then back to the city, Dene A Journey is a realization of one self. 

All 6 episodes will be screened over 3 evenings - Wednesday Feb 20, Friday Feb 22 & Saturday Feb 23

Episode 5: 'Denehdeh: My Homeland'. An unexpected transformation behind the cameras. Amos Scott and Riel Stevenson-Burke discover themselves as northern indigenous storytellers.

Episode 6: 'Dene Today and Tomorrow'. A journey revisited. Mason, Tania, Nina and Leena looking back and moving forward. 

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

http://ncsmedia.ca/

A Circumpolar Soundscape is the outcome of a remarkable collaboration bringing together three distinct and highly creative female Aboriginal artists from across the north.

This project features Leela Gilday from the Northwest Territories, Nive Nielson from Greenland and Diyet from Yukon. Internationally recognized artists, the North informs their writing and is part of every performance in every part of the world.

“You will hear songs about the love of the North, and how those places shape us; about lost love and strange love and hilarious love; about sisters’ strength and loss, holding on to hope; and about residential school and resilience… all in Greenlandic, Southern Tutchone, North Slavey, and Inuktitut, as well as English, and of course the common language - music.“ Leela Gilday

A Circumpolar Soundscape is a rare opportunity for these artists to connect on a creative level by sharing their broader Aboriginal heritage and experience. Performances are infused with passion and emotion. They bring the colours of the North alive for your ears as they paint a musical landscape through contemporary song.

One of our most popular events! Come and explore Powwow culture. Bring your friends! Bring your family! Enjoy a brilliant display of traditional and contemporary dance exhibitions featuring dancers ranging in age from toddlers to elders. Join in the inter-tribal dances! It's an interactive event for all ages! 

The Powwow also includes a variety of vendor exhibits and the sale of arts, crafts, music, contemporary and traditional foods,

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN

Facilitated by Margo Kane and Chris Creighton-Kelly
Aboriginal Performing Arts in Vancouver. What was that about these last 20 years? Who made it happen? How? Why?

Come to a dynamic conversation with Margo Kane, Marie Clements, Kevin Loring and other key players. In the morning, we will look at Aboriginal performance in Vancouver. Historically, in all its expressive forms - theatre, dance, music and where it has touched with visual arts, new media and writing.
We will try to understand what all this important work means both now and into the future of Aboriginal arts practice. In the afternoon, we will open the circle to many voices.

Please join us for this historic discussion. 

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN. Includes lunch by donation.

By Kenneth T. Williams. Directed by Yvette Nolan*. Performed by Paula-Jean Prudat*. A Gwaandak Theatre Production
Café Daughter is a one-woman memory play (inspired by a true story) about a Chinese-Cree girl growing up in rural Saskatchewan in the 1950s and 1960s. The story begins in 1957: 10-year-old Yvette Wong helps out in her parents’ café. She’s incredibly bright and dreams of becoming a doctor, but is put in the slow learners’ class because of her skin colour. Her mother has charged her with a secret – to never tell anyone she’s part Cree. This was a time when Aboriginal children were forced into residential schools, provincial law forbade white women from working in Chinese-owned businesses, and Chinese-Canadian men struggled to bring families to Canada.

Will Yvette come to terms with her own full identity, while following her dreams of attending university?

Recommended for ages 10 and up

*Appear courtesy of Canadian Actors' Equity Association 

Join us at Zawa Restaurant for food, drinks, conversation, live music and spoken word with Kristi Lane Sinclair, Janet Rogers & Alex Jacobs! 

Join Spoken Word artists and musicians as they riff and jam and spark together. Back by popular demand the Poet Laureate of Victoria, Janet Rogers with fellow Mohawk Alex Jacobs, Metis guitarist Dave Larocque, Cris Derksen, Tiffany Moses and Justin Many Fingers!

Gather with us in our 'lounge' after Ab-Original Spokenword-Scapes for drinks, conversation and live music with Janet Panic.

Pay-What-You-Can

Curated by Mique'l Icesis Dangeli

Convergence occurs where two strong ocean currents meet, merge, and transform. Propelled by opposing forces, their movement and strength increases as they intersect and coalesce. Two main currents of contemporary aboriginal dance, one more deeply rooted in ancient dance practices and the other more firmly grounded in contemporary dance, are once again reaching a crucial moment of convergence. The momentum of this transformation pushes past boundaries and categorization. It necessitates a deeper understanding of the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal dance. In response, these performances set the stage for a public dialogue on the issues that are vital to the practice of First Nations choreographers and dancers today. Featuring Lara Kramer’s new work Native Girl Syndrome, Rosy Simas, Eastern Sky Ambassadors, Dancers of Damelahamid, and Spakwus Slolem.

&g

Written and performed by Waawaate Fobister. Direction and Dramaturgy by Ed Roy.
The  six-time Dora Mavor Moore Award winning theatre production, Agokwe (pronounced Agoo-kway), written and performed by young Ojibwa artist Waawaate Fobister, is  t;a star-crossed, queer love story about two teenage boys from neighbouring reserves, bound by their mutual love for movement.

Agokwe, meaning “wise woman” or “two-spirited,” was inspired by Fobister’s own experiences. Mike is a hockey player and Jake is a traditional dancer. The boys notice each other at the Kenora Shoppers Mall and ultimately connect through a mutual love of movement while Mike is skating and Jake is dancing “like grass blowing in the wind.” They meet briefly at a post hockey-tournament party where they bashfully confess their desire for each other. However youth, distance and isolation strive to pull the threads apart when tragedy intervenes.

The play tackles issues of social isolation, lost traditions, and homophobia. Fobister’s revealing, brave, and witty characters weave a bittersweet social commentary about a community struggling to redefine itself.

Recommended for ages 13 and up. Please note there is some teenage sexuality and coarse language. 

Waawaate Fobister on First Story - YouTube 

Waawaate Fobister - TEDxToronto - YouTube

By Louis Hamelin, Robert Morin et Yves Sioui Durand
Directed by Yves Sioui Durand
Produced By Ian Boyd Les films de l’Isle and co-produced by Réginald Vollant Kunagan Productions

Recently awarded “Best Film” at the 2012 American Indian Film Institute Festival (AIFI) at San Francisco, CA. An Urban Aboriginal in his early twenties, Dave is an actor in Montreal. Adopted at the age of three years old, he grows up without knowing anything about his culture. When he receives a photo of his biological mother, he returns to Kinogamish, the community where he was born and where Gertrude, his mother still lives. The reunion does not go as planned and Dave faces a world that is hostile and alien. Similar to Hamlet, the hero he explores in his Shakespearean theatre class, Dave engages in a quest. His return to this community causes disruptions and chain reactions, reviving a painful past, marked by deceit and secrecy.

scénario de Louis Hamelin, Robert Morin et Yves Sioui Durand, réalisé par Yves Sioui Durand et produit par Ian Boyd Les films de l’Isle et co-produit par Régénald Vollant les productions Kunagan

Autochtone urbain dans la jeune vingtaine, Dave est acteur à Montréal. Adopté à l’âge de trois ans, il a grandi en ignorant tout de sa culture d’origine. Lorsqu’il reçoit par la poste une photo de sa mère biologique – qu’il découvre pour la première fois –, il part pour Kinogamish, la communauté où il a vu le jour et où vit encore Gertrude, sa mère.
Les retrouvailles ne se déroulent pas comme prévu et Dave, en perte de repères, est confronté à un univers qui lui est hostile et étranger. Dépossédé de sa culture d’origine, Dave peut-il s’en réclamer? Tel Hamlet, le héros shakespearien qu’il explore dans ses cours de théâtre, Dave s’engage dans une véritable quête.
Son retour impromptu dans cette communauté dévastée provoquera bouleversements et réactions en chaîne, ravivant un passé douloureux, marqué par le mensonge et le secret.

Convergence occurs where two strong ocean currents meet, merge, and transform. Propelled by opposing forces, their movement and strength increases as they intersect and coalesce. Two main currents of contemporary aboriginal dance, one more deeply rooted in ancient dance practices and the other more firmly grounded in contemporary dance, are once again reaching a crucial moment of convergence. The momentum of this transformation pushes past boundaries and categorization. It necessitates a deeper understanding of the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal dance. In response, these performances set the stage for a public dialogue on the issues that are vital to the practice of First Nations choreographers and dancers today. Featuring Lara Kramer’s new work Native Girl Syndrome, Rosy Simas, Git Hayetsk, Compaigni V'ni Dansi and Jesse McMann-Sparvier.

Back by popular demand! Canada’s premiere Aboriginal singers and musicians come together to give audiences a smokin’ evening of jazz standards, R&B and a variety musical genres. Margo Kane joins Sandy Scofield, Gillian Thomson, Rob Bracken and Band Dave Larocque, John Nolan, Jason Burnstick, Michael Creber & Shakti Hayes! 

The Great Mountain is an eco-adventure story in the guise of an action-packed play that entertains and empowers the imaginations of children and families alike. When Nuna starts hearing things she can’t figure out, her Grandmother realizes that she has inherited the ability to hear the spirits of rushing rivers and soaring mountains. This begins a journey across a raging river to a melting glacier where the spirit of the great mountain weeps.

Does Nuna have the power to answer the mountain's cry?

Can Nuna summon the courage it takes to discover the world with new eyes?

Inspired by a traditional Northern Plains story, Jumping Mouse.

Internationally renowned for its artistry and innovation, Red Sky is Canada's leading company of world Indigenous performance in dance, theatre and music.

This multi-award-winning company was founded by Artistic Director Sandra Laronde in 2000. Red Sky creates, produces and tours original work for adult and family audiences on stages across Canada and the world.

Since its inception, Red Sky has captured and ignited the imagination of close to 450,000 people from nine countries on four continents.

www.redskyperformance.com

RED SKY gratefully acknowledges the support from our funding partners.
This performance is made possible in part by a grant from the Ontario Arts Council's National and International Touring program.

This always popular event is always a sure hit! An eclectic evening of music song and spoken word hosted by Gabriel George and featuring renowned artists including Jason Burnstick, M'Girl, Kristi Lane Sinclair, Git Hayetsk, Wes Nahanee, DJ Cheyanna Kootenhayoo. Always fun! Always a party! Bring your dancin' shoes! 

19+ Licensed Event

The perfect way to close the festival! A variety of entertainment in a friendly setting with a sumptuous appetizer buffet to boot! This is the place to kick back, relax, mingle with artists and share your memoires of the festival. The Jazzin' band of Dave Larocque, John Nolan, Jason Burnstick, Michael Creber & Shakti Hayes will return along with singers and an open mic for festival artists.