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Achievement Page 9
Deep in the rain forest, somewhere in the Canadian Pacific Northwest, a mountain stream trickles down the rocky side of a mountain, past towering ancient cedar and pine trees and into the thick overgrowth of forest.
A reproduction of that very scene from the Northwest Coast was created on the stage at the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards gala on March 12 held in Regina. When the curtain rose to reveal the magnificence of the huge and elaborate set, gasps of astonishment came from the audience.
The centre stage curtain featured a design of brightly colored animal faces, though some people in the audience laughed and others seemed embarrassed as the animal faces that were represented on the curtain were transformed into the faces of the award winners during their individual video presentations. The two large screens for the video presentations were located on each side of the stage and were framed by Northwest Coast Aboriginal designs.
This year's awards show theme centred around Northwest Coast Aboriginal art with huge reproductions of original artwork.
One spectacular piece by artist Norman Tait from Northwestern British Columbia featured a carving of a man kneeling on a whale's tail.
Most of the set was assembled at the CBC's Toronto studios. When CBC technical crafts people went on strike on Feb. 17, the set was completed by independent technicians and then trucked to Regina, according to sources.
Crews worked around the clock for seven days to construct the immense set at the Saskatchewan Centre for the Arts, said John Kim Bell, founder, chair and executive producer of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards show.
The show was to have been co-produced with CBC, but as guests entered the lobby of the Saskatchewan Centre for Arts, striking CBC technicians handed out notices about their greivances. Ernie Steinhuvl, a lighting technician, was one of the eight people that stood in the lobby.
"I was supposed to work this show. We agreed not to picket because John Kim Bell met with the local executive and certain concessions were made," said Steinhuvl.
Bell agreed to use CBC employees who were laid off as freelance technicians, to allow CBC striking employees access to the lobby to hand out strike information, and to hold off on broadcasting the awards show until strikers were back to work.
Bell provided the striking technicians who were giving out information at the show free tickets to the gala.
"We didn't picket the show due to the nature of it. That is a charitable event. Sometimes you have to take the high road on these things," said Ken Sunley, president of CBC local 87S. "The CBC is the only network that would air this kind of thing," he said.
The old saying in theatre, the show must go on, applied to the awards show, as taping by independent camera people was apparently going according to plan.
The awards show opened with traditional dancers and the sounds of traditional singing for the grand entry. The members of the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association stood as honor guard and as an honor song was sung, the audience rose from their seats to stand in respect. The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations had approached Bell a year ago about hosting the1999 awards in Saskatchewan. Bell was very receptive to the idea, said Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde of FSIN. The FSIN reportedly contributed more than $300,000 to help produce the awards show.
"It's such a powerful tool to bring out the positives about Aboriginal people, to bestow honor on them," said the chief.
A welcome from Bell was next on the agenda, but when 11-year-old Justin Bellegarde came out instead, a parody of Bell began. Young Bellegarde introduced himself as John Kim Bell and welcomed the crowd.
"How do you like my set?" he asked. On screen, John Kim Bell appeared, apparently in his dressing room tied up with rope. Seconds later Bell came running on stage and, with a quick goodbye, exited off stge, but not before endearing himself to the audience with his professional on-stage presence.
Murray Porter and Karen Donaldson were next up and belted out a tune written by Porter called1492 Who Found Who , but it was clearly Donaldson's voice that commanded the audience's attention as it filled the auditorium.
The hosts of the gala show, Michael Greyeyes and Jennifer Podemski, brought a fresh youthful feeling to the show as they danced their way on stage.
"I was most impressed with the talent from Aboriginal people from across this country," said Chief Bellegarde.
Bell likely echoed most people's thoughts about the set by pondering out loud that the challenge of next year will be a big one to meet.
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