Talking Stick Festival launches Summer Sojourn in celebration of Indigenous art and culture
The month-long festival by Full Circle: First Nations Performance coincides with National Indigenous History Month
Embodying Power and Place features 12 audio-visual pieces incorporating text, sound, and imagery that strive to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Trans, and Two-Spirit people.
Full Circle: First Nations Performance presents Talking Stick Festival’s Summer Sojourn, taking place online until July 1. Most events are free.
TO MARK ITS 20th anniversary, Talking Stick Festival is celebrating through the seasons, inviting people to gather around Four Fires during each one. The 2021 event began with The Winter Lodge: Sitting with our Ancestors, and Spring Awakening followed. Now, running to July 1, is Summer Sojourn.
The month-long celebration of Indigenous art and culture features concerts, dance performances, exhibitions, readings, theatrical presentations, audio-visual works, discussions, film screenings, and more.
Summer Sojourn includes original programming as well as collaborations with various organizations and events across the country.
Among the highlights is Embodying Power and Place, a digital experience co-presented with the Cultch running June 3 to July 1 on demand for free. The work stems from the 2019 release of Reclaiming Power and Place, the final report by the federal commission on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In 2020, more than a dozen artists from various disciplines were commissioned by New Harlem Productions to read and respond to specific chapters of the report.
This digital iteration of Embodying Power and Place features 12 audio-visual pieces incorporating text, sound, and imagery that strive to honour the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Trans, and Two-Spirit people. Indigenous creators include Janet Antone, Reneltta Arluk, Tara Beagan, Yolanda Bonnell, Darla Contois, Deborah Courchene, Aria Evans, Eekwol Lindsay Knight, Jessica Lea Fleming, Falen Johnson, Émilie Monnet, Yvette Nolan, Michelle Olson, Natalie Sappier, jaye simpson, and Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone.
On June 15 at 7 pm PDT, Indigenous dance artists Christine Friday, Maura García, and Rebecca Sadowski perform Dances With Our Ancestors.
First Nations singer-songwriter Tara Williamson performs with her band, the Good Liars, at the 2021 Talking Stick Festival.
Tara Williamson and her band, the Good Liars, perform on June 18 at 7 pm PDT, the Victoria-based First Nations singer-songwriter having established herself as a soulful voice and sophisticated lyricist.
Starting June 3, Indigenous Cities joins the festival, a co-presentation with the NAC Indigenous Theatre and Savage Society. The project consists of a series of aural-based offerings through the voices and stories of Indigenous memory holders and artists.
Other events to catch include performances from the Yukon’s Adäka Cultural Festival, the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, and other Summer Solstice Festival happenings. Meanwhile, the country’s first French-speaking Indigenous theatre company, Montreal’s Les Productions Ondinnok, celebrates its 35th anniversary at the Mawassine Gala on June 21. Select concerts at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival are also on the program.
It all starts June 1 with a Summer Sojourn welcoming featuring Squamish Nation Elder Bob Baker and members of the Talking Stick Festival team.
For more information, see Talking Stick Festival.
Related Articles
