Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day and we would like to take the time to recognize and celebrate the amazing diversity, strength, contributions, and histories of indigenous people across Turtle Island.
“National Aboriginal Day is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. It was first celebrated on June 21, 1996, after being recognized through a proclamation by then Governor General Roméo LeBlanc. National Aboriginal Day is part of the Celebrate Canada program, though most provinces do not recognize it as a statutory holiday.”
Read more about National Indigenous Peoples Day HERE
This coming year Roseneath Theatre is incredibly proud to be taking Spirit Horse, a production adapted by Ojibway playwright Drew Hayden Taylor from the Irish play ‘Tir Na N’Og by Greg Banks, back on tour across Canada. Beginning in Northern Ontario we will travel all the way to Vancouver to perform at Carousel Theatre, before returning to Toronto to finish the tour. Spirit Horse is a powerful story that chronicles an incredible adventure involving two urban First Nations children. Angelina and Jesse’s lives are changed forever when their grandfather, who lives by the old ways on a prairies reserve, brings them a horse that has mysteriously appeared to him. The children feel an incredible bond to this majestic animal which links the girls and their dad to their Stoney Nation heritage. Is new hope and healing possible for a troubled single parent family caught between two worlds? A highly theatrical and imaginative story in which three actors play over sixty five characters, accompanied by a live musician.
“Your play has driven the point that racism hurts, that it is disrespectful and cruel. During times of racism in your play, it made people feel uncomfortable, it made them see that it is wrong. A lot of our problems have stopped because the play has shown them how a victim of racism feels, what it makes the victim thinks. Racism has still not disappeared from our school, but some of our students are starting to stand up to it and shutting it down. Students are realizing that deep down in our souls we are all people and that life is too short to make enemies. I hope that the lesson we learned from this play will carry on into the future and make Atikokan and Canada a better place, no matter what colour our skin is. Thank you for a thought provoking play and a valuable lesson.” – Grant L., AHS Gr.7, on Spirit Horse
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