“It’s where art meets education,” says Jillian Morris, host of Yonnhe’ón:we – A Celebration of Indigenous Arts, which continues in Collingwood next month.
Morris, Collingwood’s poet laureate, is Kanien’kehaka (Mowhawk) and band member of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, currently residing in Collingwood. Her poetry layers traditional teachings and the interconnection with the natural world to explore identity, redress untruths and foster connection.
Yonnhe’ón:we, is a Kanien’kéha word which translates to “ever-giving life” and celebrates the life-giving and life-promoting nature of stories.
Morris first conceived of the series to uplift the community through immersive storytelling, as a way of building awareness and building relationships. At the time, she said, she was feeling bogged down by grief and trauma due to personal losses in late summer, compounded by the weight of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation heading into the fall.
“I needed to create some balance in the stories that are being pushed out to our communities,” said Morris, to remind people that those stories are really inspiring, forward-thinking, and hopeful. “That’s where this really sparked for me.”
She set out to curate an art series that shows the beautiful aspects of the Indigenous culture.
“We’re still here and we’re still telling stories, we’re still creating stories and those stories aren’t always about the past – what we’ve been through and what we’ve overcome – they are deeply rooted in a beautiful culture,” said Morris.
Understanding that the Indigenous community will want to support its artists, she said the creation and curation is approached with sensitivity. She said she is also thinking about the young Indigenous people “who are being bombarded with the narrative of oppression and hardship.”
“All of that is true but we tend to not give as much attention to the really great beautiful things that are happening,” said Morris. “Art is that universal storytelling tool that everybody can connect with. Art, for me, is that throughway to get into some of those harder topics and deeper issues until we can talk about the trauma, and things like that, through poetry and film, but we can also use these mediums to create stories to uplift our people. Art speaks to people in a different way than any other medium.”
Morris and her team – including JoAnne Fishburn, Lisa Farano and Jennifer Parker – went looking for up-and-coming voices to showcase. The first of a four-part series was held at Simcoe Street Theatre in November. Stories were told through painting, dance, music and film, with a screening of Blood and Water, a short film by Layla Staats, artist and activist from Six Nations of the Grand River. The series continues in February with two films – A screening of Run Woman Run on Feb. 15 will be followed by a discussion with the director Zoe Hopkins, and lead actress Dakota Ray Hebert, and a screening of Warrior Spirit on Feb. 22 will include a discussion with the director and actor Will George.
The plan is to continue with two more installments – a round-table discussion about Indigenous storytelling in the spring and maybe something theatrical in the fall – although details have yet to be ironed out.
“I need people to see how Indigenous people see the world,” said Morris. “We want to build stories together with our communities,” she said, adding that means both Indigenous communities and the community of Collingwood, to which she feels very connected. “People are ready to hear these stories and that’s amazing. I have received nothing but encouragement for this and I thank the broader community for being open to receiving these stories.”
Tickets cost $25 and are available at eventbrite.ca. Search Yonnhe’ón:we – Indigenous Arts Series.