In the Beginning's Indigenous cultural-sharing sessions now streaming via the Firehall Arts Centre
Coproduced with Vancouver Moving Theatre, series features Indigenous elders and others tracing the history of the East Side
Kim Haxton, Kat Norris, Ronnie Dean Harris, and Woody Morrison in In the Beginning at the Firehall Arts Centre.
The Firehall Arts Centre is bringing back a series of engaging Indigenous cultural sharing discussions about East Side history, this time online.
In November, the company and Vancouver Moving Theatre coproduced the talks entitled In the Beginning, as part of the Heart of the City Festival.
In the discussions, Coast Salish Dene storyteller Rosemary Georgeson, Firehall Arts Centre artistic producer Donna Spencer, and Potowatomi moderator Kim Haxton hosted Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, and artists from the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations, among others.
Together, in what has been described as “Indigenous TED Talks”, the group explored the history of the East Side, in particular the Strathcona, Chinatown, Gastown, and Paueru Gai/Powell Street neighborhoods, over the course of five unique discussions.
Acknowledging the importance of the cultural dialogue and history that would be shared during In the Beginning’s sessions, each event was filmed so that the knowledge generated could be shared with wider audiences.
Now viewers can enjoy these video recordings for free online, from April 12 to 18. The five episodes cover different regions and host different guests.
The episodes are as follows:
Night 1: “Over the Mountains” (with Festival Elder Kat Norris, Curtis Talon Ahenakew, Margo Kane, and Renae Morriseau)
Night 2: “From the Waters” (with Norris, Ronnie Dean Harris, and Woody Morrison)
Night 3": “People of the River Grass” (with Christie Lee Charles and Quelemia Sparrow)
Night 4: “Tsleil-Waututh” (with Chief Leah George-Wilson and Carleen Thomas)
Night 5: “Squamish” (with Bob Baker, Wes Nahanee, and Tracy Williams)