James Buller awards excellence in the arts

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The third annual James Buller Awards ceremony held on June 18 honored Aboriginal people in the arts who have achieved excellence and contributed to the area of theatre, film and television.

The Centre for Indigenous Theatre announced the winners of the four categories. Ian Ross's play fareWel , which toured in most major cities across Canada, won the James Buller award for Playwright. Best Male Performer went to Adam Beach for his performance in the movie Smoke Signals. Best Female Performer was awarded to Tantoo Cardinal for her part in the movie Smoke Signals. The award for the Advancement of Aboriginal Theatre was won by both Margo Kane of Full Circle Native Performance in Vancouver and De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig Theatre Group of Ontario for their work in theatre productions.

"The awards ceremony went exceptionally well with a reception on the waterfront. We piggy-backed on the Aboriginal Voices festival and a lot of writers and filmmakers were on hand throughout the week which made it even more interesting," said Carol Greyeyes, artistic director of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre.

Greyeyes said that most of the award winners have been in some way connected to the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, which is in its 26 year of operation.

"That says a lot about the Indigenous theatre. People of CIT felt there should be an acknowledgment that they are competing against everyone else in the business. . . . It is not easy for these people, they still have to fight for roles. Our feeling is our people need to be recognized for their work," said Greyeyes.

The Centre for Indigenous Theatre or the Native Theatre School, as it is better known, was founded by James H. Buller. In the 1970s his name became known in the performing arts community as a leader in promoting the arts for Aboriginal people in Canada.

Buller's life story could very well be a drama production in itself. He was a boxer, a professional opera and musical comedy singer before he founded the Native Theatre School program. It is said his vision was that Aboriginal people would create social change through the arts.

"We are the only organization of our kind in North America and our goal is to produce self-sufficient artists to go out and learn what they need to learn," said Greyeyes.

Nominations come from across Canada from anyone who wishes to nominate an Aboriginal person working in the arts, said Greyeyes. Only members of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre can vote on the award winners.

"James Buller wanted Aboriginal people to tell our story. He felt that the arts and theatre would bring more awareness for everyone. He wanted to encourage that to happen," said Greyeyes.