Centre is destination for Indigenous arts practitioners

“In Canada, Indigenous art is still fresh,” said Sandra Laronde, director of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre. “It is so different, so unique, so inventive. Indigenous Arts are at the cutting edge of the Banff Centre in a lot of ways.”

All art forms - dance, theatre, music, writing, visual and new media, and film - are represented in the centre’s local, national and, increasingly, international programming. The performances, residencies, presentations, exhibits and concerts appeal to a wide range of audiences forming a portal to Indigenous art.

“We create places where it is porous, shared out online and into the world,” said Laronde.

Situated in the heart of Blackfoot country and the Stoney Nakoda Nation, the centre’s location is ideal for its audiences to learn more about the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, she says. 

New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera is at the Banff Centre for his third time. Supported by New Zealand’s Creative Arts Council, Creative New Zealand, Ihimaera is teaching in the Indigenous Writing Program. 

“We are so fortunate to have Witi as part of the faculty,” said Laronde. “He is one of the best teachers for Indigenous writers in the world.”

“The Banff Centre is the only Indigenous Arts incubator in the world that works at a high academic level,” said Ihimaera. “Without the Indigenous Arts program there would be no interface between Indigenous and other arts.”

Ihimaera rewrote and expanded his novella Medicine Woman, which explores the nature of identity for the film White Lies, screened at the Rolston Recital Hall on Sept. 26.

“People will recognize themselves in the film. We have the story of Medicine Woman in Canada as well,” said Laronde.

“Indigenous artists from nations within a majority, European-based framework such as New Zealand and Canada share similar approaches to language, culture, landscape,” said Ihimaera. “In the larger context, the two countries also share a similar history in terms of governance and political relationships. They ask crucial questions that involve all Indigenous people around the world: dilemmas of language, political rights, politics of identity, politics of representation, politics of being.”

Artists also have shared intellectual ideas across disciplines. 

“Indigenous works are very multi-disciplinary. Cross-fertilization has an impact on everybody who comes to Banff,” said Ihimaera, citing the example of architect Douglas Cardinal’s recent talk. “Writing is exposed to other forms of art, for example, architecture and structure. Students spend three hours with the only Indigenous architect of major standing in the world, an extraordinary philosopher. They learn how to become writers on the world stage.”

As Ihimaera sees it, in the Indigenous Writing program, students are not only Indigenous writers, but also learning how to be writers on the world stage. “They are Indigenous and transcending that. Transcendence - that is what the Indigenous program allows us to do.”

The approach is national, said Laronde. “We get the best people in the world to come and teach, with the doorway opening to the Indigenous world incrementally.”

Richard Wagamese, also a faculty member, was part of Readings & Spoken Word from Indigenous Writers, with Ihimaera, bringing the Ojibway and the Maori experience together. 

Upcoming events include Backbone: Indigenous Dance on Dec. 5. The work is focused on the Indigenous perspective of the Canadian Rockies, as the backbone and central nervous systems that lead up to any back, said Laronde. In Feb. 2015, Canada’s Reel North: Indigenous Short Films will feature emerging film makers from the Canadian North.

Photo caption: New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera rewrote and expanded his novella Medicine Woman, which explores the nature of identity for the film White Lies, screened at the Rolston Recital Hall on Sept. 26.