Aanmitaagzi part of international Indigenous troupe telling stories for change

By Kelly Anne Smith

NORTH BAY— Removing boundaries, opening the door to art in communities and telling stories for transformation is the thrust of an international theatre collaboration.

A public lecture titled Storying Transformations: Indigenous Processes took place Nov. 26. The event was hosted by Enji Giigdoyang – Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Nipissing University. Carol Guppy, an Elder and a Lead Artist with Aanmitaagzi, welcomed visitors.

Penny Couchie and Sid Bobb, Co-Artistic Directors of Aanmitaagzi from Nipissing First Nation, were joined by Muriel Miquel, Artistic Director of Spiderwoman Theatre from New York City.

Muriel Miquel is of Kuna and Rappahannock Nations and a pioneer in theatre in turtle island.

The Indigenous theatre artists talked about storyweaving, Indigenous knowledge and process within their project, Material Witness.

The play, Material Witness, centered on the impacts of violence on the women who re-story their pasts to heal and rebuild their families, communities and themselves.

On the panel, Bobb points out Indigenous People have had their relationship to art sullied by colonialism.

“We’ve had the means of transformation, our means of self-realization – our potlatches or dances taken. They were forcefully ripped out of our community.”

Miquel, whose Rappahannock name is Bright Sun, talked of the time when the United States forbade any Nations from doing their ceremonies.

“You were put in jail. Everything was confiscated.”

Her father and uncles shared forbidden songs and dances with the family. As a youth, she soaked up culture in Brooklyn.

“We were taught how to dance Southern and how to dance Northern.”

Couchie read from her article published in Beyond Women’s Words.

“Within the production of material witness, when we are on stage, we are illuminating each other’s stories – echoing, underscoring, casting both light and shadow, contradicting, reinforcing. Affirming one another’s stories helps to facilitate a way through one’s stories. These elements of illuminating, underscoring and contradicting are familial to me. I’ve witnessed these elements in Anishinaabe ceremony. I’ve heard it in Indigenous storytelling and songs and dances. And I’ve seen it in Indigenous clowning.”

A video clip from Material Witness showed a character, played by Miquel, urging stories to be told.

“You are your story. Go in this circle. You must not be afraid to tell your story.”

Couchie says Indigenous knowledge is brought forward through story telling. After a clip was shown of Couchie dancing in Baby Love, she was thankful to Miquel for giving her the opportunity to tell her own story.

Miquel has focused on stories of sovereignty and justice. She encourages people to tell their stories with honesty and not to be afraid.

“When they are telling their story, what comes up? Is it a sound that comes up? Is it a movement that comes up? You try to incorporate that into the story.”

The room was full of interested media students, professors, members of the public and international theatre professionals.

Sid Bobb said they have joined forces with colleagues in the audience.

“We are on another artistic venture and we were all excited to talk about the storyweaving process with the Nipissing University community.”

He explains that many of the artists who joined Miquel, Couchie and himself at the discussion were part of the team behind Material Witness or are working on the current project Misdemeanor Dreams, which Spiderwoman and Aanimataagzi are collaborating on.

“Imelda Lomas as a co-creator/performer and collaborative lead facilitator alongside Muriel Miguel and Penny Couchie are here to work on Misdemeanor Dreams. Lilly Shearer, Artistic Director of Moogahlin Performing Arts in Australia, is visiting Aanmitaagzi as a collaborative exchange. Aanmitaagzi artists Megan Paulin and Sherry Guppy were both installation artists for Material Witness and are working on Misdemeanor Dreams.”

“Megan just came back from an artistic residency with Moogahlin Performing Arts in Australia. Aanmitaagzi and Moogahlin are preparing for an international collaboration. Misdemeanor Co-Producer Carey Lovelace, the Artistic Director of Loose Change Productions and Project Manager Pat Golden were here From New York. Carey, who also co-produced Material Witness, really wanted to visit Aanmitaagzi to see our collective artistic process. Deborah Ratelle, the Managing Director of Spiderwoman Theatre, is central to all of their projects.”

Ratelle is Misdemeanor Dreams Project Manager and Producer.

Muriel Miquel says the Aanmitaagzi Productions/Spiderwoman Productions Misdeameanor Dreams started out as Midsummer Dream.

“But it didn’t work with us. We’re using a lot of thoughts of what pixies are. What are shapeshifters? What are spirits? What are these things? The logic, sometimes, is other people’s magic. We think it’s logical.”

Miquel says in storyweaving there should always be a window of hope, throwing light on our pathways. Misdemeanor Dreams will open at the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in New York in about two years she says.

“This is the beginning of it. We are doing super-huge structures that we want to either build on stage or have it built there when we’re working,” says Miquel. “We talked a lot this time about our transformations. I’ve been thinking about it more and more. What is a transformation? How do you change a transformation? How do you change a transformation in yourself?”