Storyweaving: Weaving First Nation Memories from the Past into the Future is a multi-disciplinary journey staged in the round, that honours both First Nations ancestral and urban presence in Greater Vancouver.
A cast of aboriginal artists, elders, dancers and Downtown Eastside community members help an old man – The Old One – open up to his life’s journey through the teachings of the medicine wheel. His journey home gives voice to experiences of the urban aboriginal community, to voices not heard, to lives left behind. The event ties together stories, poems, and personal memories with oral histories woven from cultural teachings, West Coast dances, and the ancient bone game of Slahal.
Some of the stories and themes explored will include:
– Echoes of the salmon fishing industry’s decline
– Families broken up by the residential school system
– The arrival in Vancouver of Aboriginal men and women looking for work
– The founding of the Coqualeetza Fellowship and Aboriginal Friendship Centre
– What it means to be Aboriginal today
– Meeting the challenges of walking in the world of the ancestors and the world of today
Storyweaving is co-written by Renae Morriseau with Rosemary Georgeson and Savannah Walling with contributions by Downtown Eastside urban Aboriginal artists and from the 2003 Downtown Eastside Community Play (James Fagan Tait and Adrienne Wong).
Storyweaving
Dates: May 11 to 13 and 18 to 20: Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 pm; Sunday matinees, 2 pm
Venue: Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre’s Chief Simon Baker Room, 1607 E. Hastings Street
Tickets: Sliding scale $0 to $20 (pay at door)
The Storyweaving Project is made possible with the generous support from Canada Council, BC Arts Council, Government of BC through Gaming, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, City of Vancouver Great Beginnings Program, BC Government Service and Employees Union, Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival and the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.
