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Poets Across Borders | Rhythm of the Heart | Honour Songs | Word! Symposium | Other Events | Credits |
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Start with the knowledge that the Founding Mothers of Edmonton were Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women – First Nations, Metis, Inuit - have always been deeply involved in the life of our city. Largely, their contributions have gone unsung. Many lived in times when Canadian law would dictate their identity
and that of their children based on the Indian Status, or lack thereof,
of their husbands. Many saw their children moving into arenas from which
they themselves were barred by virtue of their appearance, language
and culture. Many did what women all over the world have done, and sacrificed
or subsumed their identity in that of their husband. Honour Songs is a project that seeks to give a little recognition to the rich diversity of Aboriginal women’s life experiences and contributions to Edmonton, which in 2007 was second only to Winnipeg in terms of Aboriginal population, and growing fast. Coordinating team Mariyn Dumont, Tanya Lukin Linklater and Anna Marie Sewell – artists whose combined Aboriginal heritage spans the land - invited members of the Aboriginal community of Edmonton to come together and write poetry honouring women. Writers interviewed Aboriginal women active in various fields of endeavour, researched historical women, and drew on personal and family experiences; we held a series of workshops at Edmonton Public Library in order to develop the poems. Marilyn took charge of exercises for generating and refining our writing, while Tanya led movement exercises to bring participants into a performative mood. From the body of works generated, Anna Marie selected a set of poems
and adapted them for the stage. Directed by Tanya and Anna Marie, and
featuring performers both new and experienced, the show blended movement,
chorale work, song and spoken word to bring life to the highly charged
poetic text in a 30 minute paean that kicked off the Word!Symposium
gala with a roar. See the bottom of the page for community reviews of Honour Songs. See more information here: http://www.edmontonpoetryfestival.com/aboriginalproject.asp Photos by Marc Chalifoux
Here is a selection of comments from the guestbook
for the Installation. “Thank you for the beauty, the warmth and the history lesson. I will remember Betsy Brass when I cross the river now.” Maria Dunn “Congratulations and thank you for this gift to all of us.” Linda Goyette “Wow! It make’s (sic) me feel so calm.” Josephine Wong “Inspiring, beautiful.” Peter Midgeley “beautiful, important – so important!” Jonathan Meakin “It feels so calm in here.” Almira Keshana/Louis Gladue “An outstanding display that speaks volumes about real life. Great cooperation! Great results!” Albena Sewell (Anna’s mom) “ a great addition to city hall” Tim Smith
“Beautiful work. I’m inspired by your strength, courage & conviction as well as the love found within your words & images. Thanks for giving your voices to us so that others can find the strength to share their own. I’m proud to be a Cree Edmontonian woman. “ Chantelle Favell-Rubenstahl “Rock on, wonderful souls for the voiceless! Beautiful shawls!” Jasmine Desjardin “Anii. Keeping the culture alive! One Love Meegwetch” Brianna “THANK You all for this beautiful presentation. Betsy would be proud to be recognised by such strong, educated, talented young women. Thanks again” Darlene Donald (descendant of Betsy Brass-Donald) “What a wonderful tribute to our people. Thank you from my heart.” Cheryl Redington “I am here at Alberta College to look at your installation the 2nd time. With more time, I am very impressed with the beauty, the sensitivity of all the works that put into making all the shawls. They are beautiful. Thank you.” Amy Loewan “Beautiful, wonderful performance.” Keith Turnbull “What a truly inspiring display of courage healing
spirit, spirit & healing (Resiliency). “Very beautiful work, ideas thoughtful & inspiring. We are pleased to be here. Very happy Sandra was a part of this presentation.” Adeline Peterson, Joyce Denham Dumont (Sandra Nichol’s mom and sister) “You’ve opened up new corners in my mind.” Pam Young
“I am very proud not only the words we crafted and performed through Honour Songs, but in some ways, maybe more so, of the hand-work we constructed and displayed along with the performance. This was one small way to validate women’s handwork which is often marginalized as craft rather than taking its rightful status as art. While sewing the shawl, I felt that my hands and spirit where somehow shadowing all the Aboriginal women’s hands that meticulously crafted clothing for their families’ survival during the history of Edmonton, and that the sewing I did was a demonstration of my respect for their skill and hard work. The written word is important, but the handcraft was the unspoken message of Honour Songs. I like how the two disciplines complemented one another. Creating things with our hands as a group, also spoke to the practice of aboriginal women working together in extended family groups, groups which continue to this day to raise children and hold communities together.” Marilyn Dumont “Working on Honour Songs was for me an opportunity
to get to know Aboriginal Women artists whose works had always interested
me. The experience was life-changing. I am very grateful to have been
able to be a part of this project.” “I found the Honour Songs project quite extensive in scope, in that we worked in a community-based way guided by three coordinators who are each professional artists in their respective fields, and we worked with a diversity of media: written text, performance, and textile art. I feel that the project as a whole was very successful, particularly given our time and budgetary constraints, and the "newness" of the experience for many participants, who had never performed or had poetry published or (in my case) created fibre art. It was a project that challenged each participant to engage with the theme of Honour Songs in diverse ways. I think that the project was successful at least partly because of the collaborative spirit of the three coordinators who brought different skills and experiences to the table (literally, Anna's kitchen table!). However, at times the project did feel a bit large given our limited budget and time. I am thankful to have been a part of the creative process through the writing and performance workshops, and very happy with the finished "products:" the performances, particularly the full performance at the Edmonton Poetry Festival Gala night, and the shawl installations at City Hall and Muttart Hall. I feel that this project is one about raising the visibility and hearing the voices of aboriginal women in Edmonton, past and present, and it is sorely needed by the community. It is a project that I hope will continue in new forms.” Tanya Lukin Linklater “It was great to be part of a team of coordinators, and i was impressed by the spirit and diligence of the group. The writing, artwork and performance abilities of the group were also impressive, and it was great to collaborate as an artist with this multi-talented, courageous group. It is very satisfying to see how our efforts, and
those of a larger web of people (participants, advisors, producers,
volunteers, etc), coalesced into meaningful things of beauty for public
consumption.” Anna Marie Sewell |
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