Actor Tania Carter reflects on the national tour of Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way and how it changed her
As part of continuing our relationship with Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way, we will be publishing a series of post-tour blog articles and interviews with the cast and crew. Our first is on actor Tania Carter who played Muriel. Can you introduce yourself? My name is Tania Carter, I played Muriel in Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way. Where are you from? I am from Vancouver originally. Spent 20 years in Toronto and came back, and yeah, here to stay. My mom would consider herself Metis. But she was married to my dad so she’s status… but she wasn’t status before that....
Actor Jonathan Fisher on his journey playing Old One in Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way
Jonathan Fisher is Pottawattami, Muckwa Dodem (Bear Clan) from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, Three Fires Confederacy on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. He has performed as an actor, dancer and singer in productions across Canada and USA. Favourite roles include Jayko/Candy Man in “Night” (Human Cargo), Lupi in “Lupi, The Great White Wolf” (De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group) in the Anishnabe language. John Pai in “The Indolent Boys” (Syracuse Stage), Almighty Voice in “Almighty Voice & His Wife” (Native Earth), Creature Nataways in “Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing” (Red Roots Theatre), Mark in “Time Stands Still” (Native Earth), and in Ian...
Vern Bevis, playing Darryl-with-a-Chip-on-his-Shoulder, discusses how his character reflects aspects of his own personal life, spirituality and conflict
Can you introduce yourself? My name is Vern Bevis, from Vancouver, my homeland is the Okanagan Nation, Penticton and I’m an artist of sorts, trying to find my way in the world. Do you go out for a lot of auditions? I have been for as much as I can I guess. Actually last year when my dad died I came here, to Penticton for the funeral and I got pinned for one of the big roles in Deadpool Two, and then also I got pinned for one of the bigger roles in Hard Powder, which is the new...
Renae Morriseau Director, Cultural Ambassador, Lead Writer of Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way speaks to the journey of the story from its beginnings to its current place at the En’owkin Centre
Renae is Cree and Saulteaux from the Treaty 1 Territory of Manitoba and has worked across Canada and Internationally in film, television and music since the early 80s. She is honoured to have received cultural teachings through social and ceremonial songs and stories with the Secwepemc, Okanagan, Nlaka’pamux, Cree and Anishnaabe peoples. Renae toured internationally with her singing group M’Girl; served as Aboriginal Storyteller at the Vancouver Public Library and directed Down2Earth, an APTN TV Series on green-energy developments and sustainability projects in Maori (New Zealand) and First Nations (Canada) communities. Community building projects include the winter outdoor production Contest of...
Bill Beauregarde, props master, shares his take on the multi-meaning word “reconciliation”
What is your role within the show? I’m the prop master. Basically I’m sourcing out all the different articles that they might need for the show. Things like baskets, and building different things like drum baskets and repairing things. Where are you from? I’m originally from Edmonton Alberta, I come from off of a little reserve called Enoch which is just West of Edmonton. I lived in Edmonton for quite a few years. I went to a high school there that did theatre, and then I was doing things with them and opera and a bunch of other different...
Sophie Merasty speaks to bringing back stories and culture, indigenous rights, resistance and resurgence
Our culture is so connected to the land, and if that’s destroyed and damaged beyond restoration, then what do we have? What do we have to pass on to our children? Our future generations? Everything is tied into it. The language, the customs, the traditions, the spirituality and our sovereign power. It’s such a big question to answer. What does the future hold? I really don’t know.
Sam Bob, playing Trickster, tells us about his first experiences as a performer in the longhouse, his grandparents, and the damages of residential school
My name is Sam Bob. I am from Snawnaw-us First Nation, my traditional name is Tulkweemult. I was raised with my grandparents, my grandfather Kholestun, and my grandmother Waytultanault. I was raised with them before I went to residential school, but after leaving residential school grew up in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, but came back and graduated high school here in Vancouver.
Rosemary Georgeson, one of the co-writers of Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way speaks about seeing her words enacted on the stage and her life in the commercial fishing industry
Rosemary Georgeson is one of the writers of Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way, as well as the community engagement liaison. Where are you from? Galiano Island. When did you move here? I’ve been on the mainland for 30 years but home is still on Galiano. What made you move to the mainland? It was a very small place and I wanted to open up the world for my daughters more than being in an isolated small community. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do? Coast-Salish Sahtu Dene woman who was born in to the...
Actor Stephen Lytton talks about his experience in the downtown eastside, residential school, and moving forward
"What does reconciliation mean to Canada? Do they truly understand the history? Do they truly understand what reconciliation is? As indigenous people, are we truly ready to share what we want to share? Yes – we are. We are doing this – because we must. And will continue to share for as long as we are able to. There’s no other option for us. We can do it with or without you, but we’d prefer to do it with you… because at the end of the day, we still have to deal with the daily issues within our communities...
An interview with Tai Amy Grauman
I’m really excited to learn from artists like Renae Morriseau, Sam Bob, and Jonathan Fisher. I’m also really excited to travel with those people. I am very excited to work on a play in which community is such an essential aspect of the piece. I have always wanted to bring the work I do back to our communities, and this is a great opportunity to do so.
In conversation with Michelle Sylliboy – poet and photographer
“The words in the Mi’kmaq language represent what I’ve lost, and I suppose I don’t feel ready to tell people – because it’s a lifetime. It took me a long time to figure out what happened to my family and why I grew up the way I did. I lost everything. There were so many things that happened to me that it’s hard to describe and it’s very painful to tell people.”