Canadian First Nations Theatre

Drama and performance rituals have played an intrinsic role in Indigenous communities for hundreds of years, with First Nations ceremonies using traditional myths, costume, masks, and song. During the colonial period, many of these rituals were suppressed and driven underground. Others adapted to include Christian rituals and symbols. This guide will explore the development of First Nations theatre throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will also identify key playwrights and explore their influential plays.

Terminology

• Cree: a member of an indigenous people living in a vast area of central Canada.
• First Nations: term used to describe Indigenous peoples in Canada who are not Métis or Inuit.
• Indigenous: originating or occurring naturally in a particular place.
• Métis: people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, and one of the three recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
• Nanabush: a trickster figure in First Nations mythology (also known as Nanabozho).
• Reserve: land set aside by the federal government for the use and occupancy of a First Nation group.

Key Dates & Events

• 1974 - The Native Theatre School (now the Centre for Indigenous Theatre) is established by the Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts (ANDPVA).
• 1980 - The first Indigenous Theatre Celebration in Toronto.
• 1982 - Native Earth Performing Arts is established.
• 1984 - Manitoulin Island's De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig is founded; the first and only professional theatre company located on a First Nations reserve.
• 1989 - Native Earth establishes its annual new play festival.
• 1990 - Daniel David Moses’ Coyote City.
• 1999 - The Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre (formerly the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company) is founded in Saskatoon.
• 2001 - Métis playwright and artist Marie Clements establishes Urban Ink Productions in Vancouver.
• 2003 - Yvette Nolan becomes the artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts.
• 2004 - The Unnatural and Accidental Women by Marie Clements is selected by Toronto's NOW Magazine as one of the top 10 theatre productions of the year.
• 2008 - The annual Pivot Theatre Festival is established by Nakai Theatre Ensemble.
• 2020 - Daniel David Moses dies at the age of 68.