Join our monthly online CARE: Canadian Artists For Reconciliation And Education Sharing Circles.
Save the Date:
*Wed June 1, 2022 6:00 pm PT (7pm MT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET ) Special Guest Curtis Clear Sky (details below).
*Please note the change in date from previous announcements
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ZOOM DETAILS: To participate, click the link for the specific date below at the meeting time (or a few minutes before):
June 1, 2022 6:00 pm PT (7pm MT / 8pCT / 9pm ET / 10pm AT / 1030pm NDT)
Our Next Online Sharing Circle:
Wed June 1, 2022 6:00 pm PT (7pm MT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET )
We are honoured to have guest speaker Curtis Clear Sky join us.
Curtis Clear Sky is Anishinaabe and Nitstitapii and is a Vancouver based musician who leads his band Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz. Their music consists of Hip-hop with Latin-Funk, Soul & Blues. They provide a highly-engaging performance that “makes you bump with the booming blasting blare”, “you’ll be moving your feet like you don‘t care”. They continue to amplify positive messages with uplifting musical vibrations and are committed to the funk, providing a satisfying experience.
Links
https://www.constellationz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CurtisClearSkyConstellationz/
PREVIOUS SHARING CIRCLES:
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 6:00 pm PT (7pm MT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET )
We are honoured and excited to have Meeka Noelle Morgan join us as our guest speaker this month.
Meeka Noelle Morgan is Secwepemc and Nuu-Chah-Nulth woman from the interior of what is now know as BC and Vancouver Island – and is a singer/songwriter, writer, workshop designer, facilitator, and has developed many Indigenous arts projects, many involving youth.
Meeka is Artistic Director of the 2 Rivers Remix Society and Festival (https://2riversremix.ca). Since 2018 the 2 Rivers Remix Society has been presenting its Indigenous music festival in Lytton. Last year it managed to secure an appearance by Buffy Sainte-Marie, although the COVID-19 pandemic meant the three-day event had to be presented online. Surviving the crippling fire that tore through Lytton and caused thousands of dollars in losses of Festival gear and organizers homes as well as the Pandemic left Meeka and her team stronger, wiser and even more resolved to keeping the fabulous all Indigenous Festival going strong!
Meeka is lead vocalist for The Melawmen Collective, a live performance musical act with a vision to create connections between Human Beings through stories, history, art and music. Through their intergenerational experiences and stories evolved through music, they bring, build and bond consciousness through the freedom creativity and collaboration brings and allows. They are a contemporary Indigenous musical fusion woven together with elements of trip-hip hop, rock/folk, with rich rhymes and lush harmonies, bringing a uniqueness of sound like no other, drawing in a wide variety of listeners through sharing their own journeys of life through their musical evolution together.
Wednesday March 16, 2022
Special guest this month is Norman Retasket, a member of the Bonaparte Indian Band. He is a 76 year old master drum-maker, carver, storyteller and drug & alcohol counsellor. He prides himself in being a bridge for those who wish to learn about Indigenous arts and culture. Norman is a residential school survivor who has reclaimed his identity and is touching the hearts of people around the world. Norman has made over 7000 drums and continues to share his passion for drum-making with others while telling stories rich with humour and history. Also see: https://www.communityfutures.ca/wildfire-business-transition-project-news/norman-retasket-artist
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Join us in learning about the collaborative process to create On The River, the Video Ballad inspired by the late Chief Dorothy McDonald-Hyde of the Fort McKay First Nation, featuring a discussion with special guests Sarah Pocklington, Sherryl Sewepagaham, Debbie Houle of music trio Asani, videographer Don Bouzek and songwriter Maria Dunn.
On the River is a 60-minute live performance of music and video that tells the story of the Cree, Dene and Métis peoples’ community of Fort McKay, Alberta, through the lens of the life of former chief Dorothy McDonald-Hyde, a champion of environmental protection and Indigenous rights who stood up to industry giants that were profiting from her homelands. The songs are written and performed by Asani and Maria Dunn with video by Don Bouzek of Ground Zero Productions.
The confluence of words, video footage, music and the beating of the drums inspired tears; feelings of anger, respect, love; and a deeper understanding about a place, its people and its history. … we enjoyed an evening of incredible music, an immersion into the history of a community, and gained better understanding of one of their most revered leaders. I think this is an important Alberta story that deserves to be seen and shared.” – Russell Thomas, Fort McMurray Today
Resources
On the River Description https://www.mariadunn.com/projects/on-the-river/
Ground Zero Productions On the River http://gzpedmonton.org/projects/view/on-the-river
Wednesday January 19, 2022
Special guests Paul Lacerte and Raven Lacerte from Moose Hide Campaign ( https://moosehidecampaign.ca/ ), an Indigenous-led grassroots movement of men, boys and all Canadians – standing up to end violence against women and children. They will share with us more about their annual campaign.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Sharing Circle Topic: Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirits with special guest Brenda Wilson who is the BC Family Information Liaison for MMIWG2S+. She is also the sister of Ramona Wilson.
Reading Resource
Highway of Tears by author Jessica McDiarmid
Brenda Wilson, Gitskan Nation, lives in Lheidli T’enneh Territory. Brenda has been working for decades to raise the profile of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, based on the ongoing lived experience of her own family, and her extensive community and advocacy work with entities such as the Prince George Red Dress Society, and as a Coordinator for theHighway of Tears Initiative at Carrier Sekani Family Services. She also continues to work toward the well-being of communities across northern BC as a Support Worker (Prince George Office) with the BC Family Information Liason Unit, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
7:00 pm (PST) on Zoom (details below)
Sharing Circle Topic: National Truth & Reconciliation Day with special guest Phyllis Webstad. Phyllis will be joining us to share her story and talk about how it inspired the Orange Shirt Movement which led to the slogan Every Child Matters. What did you do on Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30? What can we do every day to continue on this journey together?
Special Guest: Phyllis Webstad
Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). She comes from mixed Secwepemc and Irish/French heritage, was born in Dog Creek, and lives in Williams Lake, BC. Today, Phyllis is married, has one son, a step-son and five grandchildren. She is the Executive Director of the Orange Shirt Society, and tours the country telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system. She has now published two books, the “Orange Shirt Story” and “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt” for younger children.
She earned diplomas in Business Administration from the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology; and in Accounting from Thompson Rivers University. Phyllis received the 2017 TRU Distinguished Alumni Award for her unprecedented impact on local, provincial, national and international communities through the sharing of her orange shirt story.