Margaret Grenier pays tribute to matriarchs in multimedia Raven Mother
The Dancers of Damelahamid’s most ambitious production to date explores the precious artistic legacy passed down by Elder Margaret Harris
Raven Mother, with the Raven transformation mask at right. Photo by Andrew Grenier
The Cultch presents Raven Mother at the Historic Theatre from October 9 to 11
IN NORTH COAST Indigenous culture, the Raven Mother is known for guiding her young with the help of her flock, teaching them the wisdom and ways of an interconnected world.
She’s a perfect symbol for Margaret Harris, the late elder who founded the Dancers of Damelahamid in 1967, and who was instrumental in revitalizing Gitxsan songs, dance, stories, and regalia-making after the Potlatch ban.
In the multimedia dance show Raven Mother, her daughter Margaret Grenier is paying tribute to the determination of Harris, and matriarchs everywhere, in passing on important legacies. At the same time, the new work speaks to the way Grenier continues to transfer that cultural knowledge to her own daughters—and future generations.
The goal of Raven Mother, several years in the making, became clear after the loss of Grenier’s mother in 2020.
“You want to do something that really does speak to how much gratitude you have to our elders and our mothers, who have ensured that not only is this practice intact, but they’ve been the force to really carry it forward,” says the choreographer and dancer, who’s artistic director of the Dancers of Damelahamid.
Grenier’s mother came from the Cree Nation in northern Ontario, later marrying Gitxsan Chief Kenneth Harris in 1953. In the kind of matriarchal lineage that the new dancework is about, her mother-in-law Irene Harris taught her the traditional songs and dances of the Gitxsan, who live along the Skeena River in northwestern B.C. Margaret Harris would, in turn, become a key force in passing that knowledge to subsequent generations.
Raven Mother, with Margaret Grenier at left. Photo by Andrew Grenier
“She was brought into the family and brought into the practice, and then to also be able to to carry that for her children and her extended family and communities beyond that—I think that’s what became the heart of the work,” Grenier says of Raven Mother.
Grenier stepped into leading Dancers of Damelahamid in 2003, and the company has since made a name for the way it blends the traditional and contemporary in multimedia works like Mînowin and Flicker. Raven Mother is the company’s most ambitious work yet, she says. Its early inspiration was a Raven rattle—a detailed object that is a powerful part of Gitxsan ceremony. Northwest Coast artist David A. Boxley first carved one that integrated frog and bear imagery into the design. He then mentored Grenier’s husband Andrew Grenier increating a major sculptural set piece based on the work—one that’s big enough to hold a carved frog and bear mask that can be removed and danced in the show. Andrew Grenier also carved a stunning, intricately painted raven transformation mask that opens to reveal formline designs and smaller, removable masks inside.
Grenier’s daughter Raven, meanwhile, not only dances in the work but has created its score with composer Ted Hamilton, singing in Gitxsanimx against an ethereal soundscape. And her daughter-in-law, celebrated fashion designer Rebecca Baker-Grenier, has created an elaborate array of regalia—including a feathered Raven cloak, a traditional feathered Gitxsan piece that’s being revived and interpreted through research, and has not been seen in performance for generations. Elsewhere, mother-of-pearl buttons gleam and fringes sway.
“I know my mother would be so proud of that—the detail and the effort that she has put into the pieces she’s created, and because every piece of regalia has so much story and intention in its details,” Grenier says, and then adds of Margaret Harris with a laugh: “Also, just because she was always someone who, even in her 80s, still wore her heels, she would be pleased that the regalia is so beautiful!”
The work included a residency at Ballet BC and kicks off a national tour after its premiere here at The Cultch; Margaret and Raven Grenier perform it alongside Rebecca Baker-Grenier, Nigel Baker-Grenier, and Renée Harris.
The deep, layered process of creating the collaborative piece has made Grenier realize the way she’s stepping in to continue her mother’s generation’s work—and the way the legacy is passing down to her own small grandchildren. And she’s come to appreciate her parents’ gift of surrounding her with art, dance, song, and language from as far back as she can remember—all too aware that was not the case for her own grandmother during the Potlatch ban.
“My mom was there to tell us when it was time to make a blanket, or to make sure we were doing everything right—whether it was drums or making mukluks,” she begins. “And now we’re there to hold that role, and to remind ourselves of those little details of what she trained us in.
“How does that role shift now that she’s gone? Our generation is offering that guidance to our children,” Grenier continues. “And then their very young children are just starting to open themselves up to the practice, and you can see how those influences really are starting to be instilled in them. You can see just the little sparks of the things that are starting to come out of them, like when they’re singing the songs while they’re playing.”
Then, speaking about both Raven Mother and the way she is seeing her daughter and daughter-in-law find and express their voices in the work, she adds: “I think that really does speak a lot to a woman’s heart: how we are compelled by what we want for our children in the next generation.” 
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