Story will challenge concepts of truth and justice

Shira Leuchter and Chris Hanratty of Unspun Theatre have brought to light a long-forgotten 200-year-old story of a murdering fur trader, Chippewa Indian brothers and a sunken ship. They’ve turned the story into a performance piece that will be staged May 15 to May 18 at the Enwave Theatre located at Toronto’s Harbourfront.

In 1804, the HMS Speedy set sail on Lake Ontario enroute to Newcastle. Passengers on the ship were to try a case against Ogetonicut, a Chppewa man accused of killing a white fur trader. A year earlier, Ogetonicut’s brother Whistling Duck had been murdered by a white fur trader. The governor had promised Ogetonicut an immediate trial.

After a year of waiting and with no trial in sight, Ogetonicut decided to take justice into his own hands. He allegedly killed his brother’s murderer. The death of a white man at the hands of an Indian seemingly dictated speedier justice. On Oct. 7, 1804, 20 of the most important citizens of the day boarded the HMS Speedy at modern day Queen’s Quay to try a murder case against Ogetonicut.

At the time, it was thought Newcastle would replace York as the capital of Upper Canada. York had only 400 residents at the time and was considered unsuitable because of its large constituency of criminals and sex trade workers.

Six handwritten copies of the Constitution of Upper Canada accompanied the passengers aboard the HMS Speedy. The ship went down, justice was never served and York remained the capital of Upper Canada.

“We’ve joined two different art forms in this piece,” said Leuchter, “choreography and movement, and song.” Leuchter and her husband came up with the idea after they discovered the story of the Speedy.

“We’d looked for stories specifically that happened at the Harbourfront site,” she said. “We wanted to shed a light on the gaps in the colonial justice system, the different approaches to the notion of justice, as well as the different ways we pass our stories along. We wanted to look at the question of what does the idea of truth mean.”

Aboriginal involvement has been important, said Leuchter. Thunder Bay-based Metis actor and playwright Keith Barker will be performing in The Speedy. Native Earth, a Toronto-based Aboriginal theatre company has reviewed the script. “Native Earth has been incredibly generous with us,” she said. “They’ve been a great resource.”

“We’re hoping this story will change how people look at the ground under their feet and that they’ll think about the city in a different way. This is such an important story and such an interesting story,” said Leuchter.

Photo caption: Shira Leuchter is one of the creators of The Speedy, a performance piece about shipwrecks and colonial justice that will be staged at Toronto’s Harbourfront May 15 to May 18.