YAWENDA’ – An outdoor exhibition celebrating 40 years of Indigenous theater in Quebec

Over the past 40 years, Ondinnok stood out for its avant-garde approach: in 1985, many people did not understand what they were seeing—it was ancestral, ceremonial, sometimes shamanic, and unfolded in situ. The company has always had a broader and grander vision than what it could put forth at the time. It has grown over the years, and people have embraced this kind of theater, but Ondinnok has always been seen as being on the fringe. What was revolutionary was that it gave Indigenous people freedom on stage—and that hasn’t changed.

Yes: Onishka, founded by Émilie Monnet, works extensively with images and video; Menuentakuan, by Charles Bender, Marco Collin and Xavier Huard, puts out original works but also translates works originally in English; Productions AUEN, by Soleil Launière, focuses on the body, physicality, movement, and poetry. We are four companies with different missions, but each one puts its talent and vision at the service of Indigenous theater.

This story is divided into three cycles, each portrayed by a great number of very large photographs. From 1985 to 1995, it was the beginning—works related to mythology. As I said, it was ceremonial and ancestral theater. From 1995 to the early 2000s, it was all about healing theater, which sought to break the cycle of social problems in communities. And from 2000 to the present day, it has been more about contemporary theater, driven by a new generation of actors, writers, and directors.

I feel a great deal of heaviness when I come to Montreal: Woli kpotenom – purification is a video that shows a purification of the neighbourhood, of the territory. We want people to let themselves be carried away: there are lots of energy stones, symbols of the four seasons, the stars—anything that brings peace and calm.

Rabinal Achi is a thousand-year-old Guatemalan theatrical work that was recognized as UNESCO heritage in 2008.  We had already taken it on stage, we had the traditional costumes associated with it, so we thought, “maybe the NFB would like to exhibit the costumes”. “Oh yes, and the NFB has already produced a documentary about Yves,” which we decided to include as well.

The grandeur of Indigenous talent—the fact that we understand a little more who we are as artists, that we understand the message, that this makes people want to go see one of our creations. We want to show that 40 years may seem like a long time, but it also feels like it was only yesterday. Every year, Ondinnok has to start over in its endeavor to reach out to non-Indigenous audiences, so the exhibition is one of the best forms of publicity we could ask for.