Cree artist Kent Monkman’s exhibition Being Legendary, to be presented at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) from October 8 to March 23, 2023, plays with concepts of foundational myths, narrative biases and repatriation.
On September 18, The Issue with Tissue: A Boreal Love Story made its world premiere at the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival. The documentary by award-winning actor and filmmaker Michael Zelnicker draws a connection between colonial violence and unfettered extractive industrial exploitation.
The Montreal First Peoples’ Festival ended with an awards ceremony that celebrated the top Indigenous films shown at this year’s event – “among the best we have ever seen,” according to festival founder André Dudemaine.
Summer literacy camps were held in eight Cree communities this summer, enrolling around 240 youth for most of July in a program organized by the Cree School Board and Frontier College.
Streams of culture from across the Americas united at Montreal’s First Peoples Festival August 9-18 to embrace defiance, joy and hope in a celebration of Indigenous art and sovereignty.
A pillar of the city’s summer festival season, the Montreal First Peoples Festival, emerges from the “pandemic torpor” with a vibrant program August 9-18. This year’s lineup was announced on the first day of the Pope’s visit to Canada, a coincidence acknowledged in its defiant press release.
The Quebec government announced new five-year funding for Indigenous language and culture initiatives just weeks after passing Bill 96, widely criticized for making it harder to protect Indigenous languages.
To combat language loss, the Cree Nation Government’s Child and Family Services department is expanding Cree language resources by providing seven new books for preschoolers. Books in both coastal and inland dialects arrived at community childcare centres June 3.
“Now that things are opening up, let’s bring the artists who may never get a chance like this,” explained David Hodges, the music programming director of inPath, which supports young Indigenous creators.
After a hesitant return to in-person events last summer, Cree tourism is looking to bounce back from the pandemic this year. Across the region, numerous events will be back and there will be plenty of surprises to discover.
