Kehewin – The upcoming summer season marks the return of several festivals and cultural events that had been rescheduled or cancelled because of the pandemic.
The 2022 festival season also marks the return of performances by a local touring Indigenous theatre troupe, the Kehewin Native Dance Theatre (KNDT). The group has already begun hitting the powwow trail after a two-year pause.
Since its inception in 1991, KNDT has toured regionally, interprovincially and throughout North America to facilitate workshops and to perform at a wide range of events.
After a five-month trip to Arizona that was filled with storytelling, hoop dancing performances and facilitating workshops, three of KNDT’s members are headed north with a significant victory under their belt.
Crystal (Beany) John, the KNDT’s trainer and 2 Spirit dancer won second place at the 2022 World Championship Hoop Dance Contest for her performance on March 26 at the Heard Museum in Arizona.
Also taking part in the southern tour were Melvin John, the technical director for KNDT, and Rosa John, the theatre’s artistic director.
“We believe that bringing our stories and culture to the forefront is a positive way to teach the true history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States,” Rosa John told Lakeland This Week.
“We believe that becoming educated about the true history and culture of Native peoples will change the attitudes of non-Native people toward Indigenous people.”
Every summer since 2008, KNDT has held an on-reserve dance training program for youth between the age of 15 and 20 years old, which is funded through grants from Canada Council for the Arts and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
“Native youth from across Canada are trained in storytelling, powwow, contemporary and hoop dance styles,” explained John.
Each year the youth and trainers choose a subject or theme that they will focus their stories on.
“One year the theme was water, another year it was the issue of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Another year it was about healthy relationships and so on,” she added.
The participating youth would then carry out the first performances in Kehewin Cree Nation, then they would head to Bonnyville’s former Lyle Victor Albert Centre before touring interprovincially.
During the performers’ spring break, the KNDT troupe would tour for a week to Indigenous communities and urban Native centres throughout Toronto and southern Ontario as well.
But in March 2020 everything came to a grinding halt.
“It was (going) to be the first year the program would tour Nova Scotia, but due to the COVID pandemic, all shows were cancelled,” John said. The 2020 and 2021 summer training programs were also cancelled.
Back on the circuit
This spring and summer season, KNDT’s programming will be up and running again.
Although this year’s tours will not be made up of youth trainees, it will include two separate shows, noted John.
The KNDT will perform their Trickster Trilogy, which is a storytelling and dance show that shares three humorous traditional trickster stories using contemporary characters and large masks, described the artistic director.
The second show is entitled Dancing the Red Path. It shares five histories and dances of the powwow.
“Both shows have become signature pieces for the collective,” John added. “KNDT will also be facilitating hoop dance and mask making workshops during the tour.”
The participants will be making animal masks that mimic the ones used in Trickster Trilogy show.
“For thousands of years, masks have been a traditional storytelling tool for Indigenous people across Turtle Island,” she explained.
“The hoop dance style, initially a healing dance that began in the southwestern United States, has grown within the powwow circle throughout Canada.”
According to John, many people have shown a great interest in learning to dance and make hoops, as the hoop dance is still seen as a traditional healing tool.
Alberta performances
In May, KNDT will be performing for the 2022 annual Award of Excellence in Nursing of Indigenous Services Canada. The virtual ceremony held on May 9, presents awards to three healthcare workers who provide exceptional care in First Nations or Inuit communities.
KNDT will also be performing at the Treaty 6 Contemporary Arts Festival in Cold Lake on June 11.
