Making Treaty 7 Announces 2019/2020 Season

By: Sep. 18, 2019
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The Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society is excited to announce their 2019/2020 Season lineup in their new home as a resident company at The Grand.

"We are the second Indigenous Theatre company in Canada to have a residency at a local theatre, and it being at a historical space like The Grand is so very special," said Artistic Director Justin Many Fingers.

"This is a season of new beginnings and renewing our history. The past is what guides our work, but we are embracing the future as well, and simultaneously creating and preserving culture through telling these stories. This season, in this space, is us coming to the table to officially support our artists and celebrate all the nations of Treaty 7 - and we have so much to celebrate and be excited about."

THE 2019/2020 PRODUCTIONS

509

Written, Directed and Choreographed By Justin Many Fingers Co-Production with Lunchbox Theatre OCTOBER 10 - OCTOBER 18, 2019

509 is a powerful story that weaves the personal experiences of MT7 Artistic Director Justin Many Fingers with a Blackfoot story told to him as a child. The Blackfoot believe that after death, our spirits go to the sacred hills where the living and spirit world meet. There, Napi (the Blackfoot trickster), guides you to the other side, accompanied by the spirit of the buffalo herd.

In a single, life-changing moment, lead character Garret finds himself in this middle place - in limbo between the spirit world and the life he has known. With the stars and midnight blue sky on one side of Highway 509, and sunshine colours of the morning on the other, Garret remembers the story his grandfather told him as a young child and wonders if Napi is coming to take him to the other side.

Tlakentli Ondinnok Productions

JANUARY 23 - 25, 2020

In the heart of America, the language of the bodies follows a tortuous path. In a performance midway between dance and theatre, two Indigenous artist from Mexico, of Nahua and Mixteco descent, share with us their quest for identity by drawing on their cultures and the history of their ancestors. They present scenes of their metamorphoses through time, revealing the upheavals and constantly driven by the hope of finding themselves.

Languages and myths propel this inevitable voyage that redraws borders and casts off the hides adopted both freely and forcibly. Revealing that which unites us and that which tears us away from each other and ourselves, Tlakentli considers the issue of identity in relation to migrations and explores the myths of our original elegance.

Special Partnership with LUNCHBOX THEATRE

OLD MAN: THE NAPI PROJECT

FEBRUARY 15 - MARCH 7, 2020

A co-operative Artist in Residence program with Lunchbox Theatre, this project will explore the tradition of Trickster, and stories that examine our morals and the choices we face. The project will be an exploration of what this cultural character evokes and inspires in an Indigenous artist. MT7 will be announcing the artist in residence during the Season Announcement event on May 16th. http://www.lunchboxtheatre.com/old-man-the-napi-project

GODLYS DIVINIA (LOVE AND TRAGEDY IN BARE ROCK, MANITOBA)

By Billy G. Merasty MAY 6 - 16, 2020

Godlys Divinia is a story of love and tragedy based on true events that happened in a remote northern community in Manitoba. A young Cree boy from "off reserve" meets a young Cree girl from the reserve and they fall in love, but the girl becomes pregnant and - fearing her father's reaction - gives the baby up for adoption. Two tragic consequences occur in the same home, and a family is changed forever.

RELAXED PERFORMANCES

Making Treaty 7 will be offering Relaxed Performances in their season, as part of Inside Out Theatre's Good Host Program, on the Sunday matinee of each production.

Relaxed performances are designed to welcome audience members who would benefit from a more relaxed environment, including those with sensory concerns, autism spectrum disorders, learning disorders, dementia; parents with small babies; or anyone for whom the regular theatre experience can be challenging. Small modifications are made to the production and the patron experience to help reduce anxiety.

Most importantly, everyone is welcome to do whatever they have to do to be able to enjoy the play. More information about Relaxed Performances - https://youtu.be/ ZDhrY4PORME

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS & EVENTS

Making Treaty 7 and The GRAND are excited to partner with Calgary Pride for the following events and special presentations:

August 28, 2019: Making Treaty 7's Talking Series with Guests Waawaate Fobister and Marshall Vielle, hosted by Artistic Director Justin Many Fingers.

August 29: Agokwe Theatrical One Man Show Written and Performed by Waawaate Fobister

August 30: Indigenous Drag Cabaret Featuring Argintina Hailey (Morley, AB); Levi Alizaar Foy (Winnipeg, MB); Quanah Napoleon (Vancouver, BC); Marshal Vielle (Kainai, AB); and DJ Dexter Amos (Morley, AB).

Tickets are available through The Grand's Box Office (403) 205-2922) and online at thegrandyyc.ca

Making Treaty 7 will be hosting an event to announce their 2019/2020 Season on May 15th at 6:30 p.m. at their new home, The GRAND. Please contact aldonabpr@gmail.com if you'd like to attend or for interview requests. There will

be additional information presented at the event of upcoming projects and collaborations.

Justin Many Fingers is a founding member and the Artistic Director of the Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society. His Canadian name is Justin Many Fingers, and is a Queer, Indigenous, disabled, and MAD artist from the Kanawa Blackfoot Reserve in Southern Alberta. Justin is an international artist who studied in performing arts. He has worked with the Artists and companies from Australia, Thailand, Nunavut, Japan, Greenland, United States of America, and Mexico. Justin is a graduate of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, three-year acting conservatory. He also studied at the Soulpepper Actors Academy and their 2012 season. Justin has studied in both western and indigenous performing art forms for five and a half years through out Canada. The Elders he has learned from and work with are Narcisse Blood, Alvine Mountainhorse, Beverly Hungry Wolf, and Raymond Many Bears.

Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society presents entertainment pieces and learning experiences for all Canadians. Inspirational, educational, and entertaining, the Making Treaty 7 performances tell a fundamental story of Alberta's past, and hopes to inspire new relationships across cultures and generations, long into the future. The Society invites all ages and backgrounds to consider an enlightened, sustainable future for everyone, together.



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