Abstracts
Keywords:
- theatre,
- land,
- Atikamekw,
- History,
- story
In the summer of 2021, I presented a hybrid piece of theatre that combined documentary theatre with a creative practice focused on the Atikamekw ancestral territory, Nitaskinan, as well as the current sociohistorical and political context, all from a feminine and feminist perspective. Four actors (three Atikamekw women and one Wendat artist) were present on stage, along with five videographers (four Atikamekw and one Anishnabeg). They were accompanied by the soundscapes of an Anishnabeg musician and a Québécoise musician. Traditional drummers also embodied the heartbeat of the ancestral territory. The excerpt that follows is from the final act of the play. The play was presented at the Festival international Présence autochtone in Montréal with the desire, following the death of Joyce Echaquan, to render visible the presence of Atikamekw and Indigenous peoples to a diverse audience (including allochthonous, Indigenous) in Montréal. The Indigenous artists seized this opportunity to come together to celebrate the resilience of the Atikamekw people and the cultures of the First Nations, especially in the wake of the discovery of the bodies of Indigenous children at former Indian residential school sites. With this artistic and social engagement, they wanted to pay tribute to their Elders, women, men, children, ancestors, and their missing, by carrying their words, their names, and the dreams of their nations. Theatre is a place of encounters and storytelling, and the elders used performance protocols during their political and diplomatic meetings, including through the use of prayers, sacred fire, pipes, and the customary marks of respect of the time. The first two acts of the play are titled “Oka” and “La rivière Serpent.” Here is the third act: North, South, East, West. The four directions have merged at a single point, reaching toward the zenith, much like the walls of a pyramid converge at its peak, pointing toward the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars. First Peoples are like the pyramid, with Yellow, Black, Red, and White coming together at its base, uniting their destinies to fulfill the prophecy that will unite the Americas and all its nations. It is the meeting of the eagle and the condor, an ancestral prophecy that one day all the First Peoples of the Americas will come together to grow and rise together in peace and mutual respect. The mountain in my village is ready to fulfill this task, and its fire is now a beacon in the night. All First Peoples are called to come together as it was once the case at Hochelaga, in the past. In 1701, 1,300 chiefs and delegates from 39 Indigenous nations traveled to the St. Lawrence River to sign the Great Peace of Montréal with the Europeans, ending decades of war. Were present: The Hurons of the Great Lakes (Wyandots: Wendats)... ... represented by the Huron chief Kondiaronk from the nation of the Tobacco People, and a significant figure in the Great Peace of Montréal, to whom we owe the words: “The sun has now dispelled the clouds to reveal this beautiful Tree of Peace, which was already planted on the tallest mountain on Earth.” Chief Kondiaronk died on August 2, 1701, during the discussions and agreements among the various nations. He was one of the key figures that contributed to the ratification of the Great Peace of Montréal. Were present: The Sable Odawas represented by Kinonge The Kiskakons The Sinago Odawas The Nassawaketons The Ojibwe of the strait of Lake Huron and Lake Superior The Pouteouatamis Potowatomis The Sauks The Sioux Otchagras of the west of Lake Michigan The Menominees or Wild Rice People The Foxes or Outagamis …