Odjig and Shawanda included in musical film at world premiere in Toronto

By Sam Laskaris

TORONTO – A long-lasting friendship led to Lisa Odjig having a role in a film, which had its world premiere in Toronto earlier this month.

Odjig, a two-time world hoop champion, attended the world premiere of Walking Through The Fire, held at Toronto’s Cecil Community Centre on Nov. 1.

Walking Through The Fire is a visual album featuring songs mixed in with quick stories from various First Nations, Métis, and Inuit musicians.

Odjig, who showcases her hoop dancing skills, is one of two Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory members in the film. Award-winning musician Crystal Shawanda is the other Wiikwemkoong member featured in the movie.

“I’m very happy and honoured to be here,” Odjig told Anishinabek News moments after the world premiere concluded. “It’s a very special time to be together and share this beautiful collaboration and story.”

The film features a popular band titled Sultans of String collaborating with the Indigenous artists on various songs.

Besides the film, the Sultans of String have also been performing at various concerts, with Indigenous artists, primarily throughout Ontario. The film will also be screened at numerous venues in the province in the coming weeks.

Odjig said her role in the film and concerts resulted from a conversation she had with a former work colleague, Ojibwe singer/songer Marc Meriläinen. The pair had worked together at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

“We’ve been friends and we kept in touch,” Odjig said. “He actually reached out to me. One day, I got a message from him on my phone and he asked me if I wanted to come and take part and dance in some shows…He told me about their collaboration and what they were up to and I was very excited. I said I would love to join. And I’ve loved it ever since. I think the music is very beautiful. It’s very powerful and a very powerful message and it’s been an absolute honour to be a part of this great story and teaching everyone.”

Odjig, who lives in Toronto, also talked about the importance of the messages in the film.

“What basically this is all about is that bridge sharing story and sharing what is really happening in this world within our Indigenous communities,” she said.

Odjig’s mother is an Indian Residential School Survivor.

“They wanted to take the Indigenous out of us, to stop our practices, our songs, our dances,” Odjig said. “So, I feel that was one of my gifts being here, to share about Indigenous dance, hoop dance, fancy shawl dance. That’s part of our cultures and traditions as well. That’s why I felt it was really important to come out and be a part of this.”

Shawanda, who now lives in Nashville, was unable to attend the world premiere. In the film, she sings a song titled, The Rez.

“It’s a song about hope and how everything we do, even when you move away from our communities, we’re doing everything, whether we’re going to school or trying to work at a job or chasing a dream, we’re doing that because we want to honour our families and our communities,” Shawanda said in the film’s intro to the song.

Shawanda also said she has fond memories of growing up.

“It’s about community,” she said of her early years on a First Nation. “It’s about resilience. It’s about this amazing sense of humour that you can only experience and that you can only have if you actually grew up on a reserve. It’s about love. It’s about this big extended family where when one family is struggling, we all feel for each other. This was a chance for me to tell our story, from our point of view.”