Back in April, Burnt Thicket Theatre released the first episode of our podcast series We Treaty People. We released four more brand new audio dramas along with insightful interview podcast episodes over the next couple of months before taking a break for the summer.
I’m glad to say that as of today we are back with the second half of our We Treaty People series, starting with a wonderful and challenging piece written by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, directed by Yvette Nolan, and performed by Kris Alvarez and Kris Sandoval. Please go ahead, right now, and listen to the episode, it’s great - www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog…. Then go ahead and subscribe because we’ve got more episodes to come.
Of course, today is also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation here in Canada. It seems especially appropriate then to say that this day is not simply a one of remembrance, but one of action, a day for doing the work of Truth and Reconciliation.
It can seem daunting, it can be frustrating, but one thing that helping create We Treaty People has been teaching me is that reconciliation doesn’t need to be one more extra thing I add to a To Do list. Indeed, it needs to be part of the way I work and walk in the world.
As Yvette Nolan was quick to point out to us, the act of creating these stories, bringing together indigenous and non-indigenous artists, was itself an act of reconciliation, one more step on the journey. I see that for myself, and I see how this work opens up further opportunities for reconciliation simply because I have now worked with more and more Indigenous artists here in Saskatchewan, wonderful and talented artists who I want to work with again. I don’t see how reconciliation can happen if I don’t have spaces like this, where I regularly encounter people who are Indigenous, spaces where we can have honest and brave engagement with the stories that continue to shape the way we live together.
I admit it’s not easy to create spaces conducive to reconciliation, but I can do my best to be that kind of space, to use the work I’m already doing to create those spaces. To try and fail and try again. To listen before speaking, and then listen again, and listen again.
As the sound designer for We Treaty People, this has been my primary job - to listen, and listen again. As I listen I adjust the audio and I add foley, not to tell my own story but to do my best to truthfully and clearly share the stories that have been entrusted to me by others.
I hope you listen to these stories with me, and I hope they point you toward the possibilities of reconciliation that you can begin working toward today.