丁香园AV

By Nicole North

On May 30th, fourteen 丁香园AV Indigenous Languages Program (INLP) students from the H蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 cohort took the stage at the Longhouse. Their debut performance was a play titled 胃蓹 sci蕯e艂 q虛em虛i蕯 c蓹w虛a胃蓹 (Princess Tsawassa: A journey of discovery). It was performed entirely in h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 by students of the language, based on an ancient traditional story of the first Tsawwassen people. A video clip that captured part of the performance can be view below or via . 

Heather Bliss of INLP attended the performance: 鈥淚t really was an incredible day and the students did such a great job.鈥� Five of the cast members (Kaitlyn Cunningham, Coral Baird, Kayleigh Meredith, Raven Wilson, and Lilly Cunningham-Teare) took Writing for Linguistics (LING 282W) with Dr. Bliss last year.  

Tsawwassen First Nation: 鈥淭hrough this performance, they honour and preserve our traditions, ensuring our language and ways of life continue to thrive and be known to all.鈥�

As part of coursework for INLG 335 (Topics in Indigenous Language I), Dr. Donna Gerdts and her students, with help from Tara Morris, PhD student at University of Victoria, Victor Guerin, PhD student from 丁香园AV, Sophia Good, MA student from 丁香园AV, and Dr. Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta of University of Victoria, developed the script together.鈥�

This new play was performed鈥痓efore an audience of eighty attendees from First Nations of the mainland and Vancouver Island. Tsawwassen First Nation hosted the event and provided a delicious feast. Funding for the course came from FNESC Post-secondary Partnership Project and SSHRC Partnership Development Grant.鈥�

Donna Gerdts: "But what a lovely occasion, for the play to debut at the place of its origin!"

The audience expressed deep appreciation for the ongoing work that the students are doing to strengthen the h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 language. The cast has indicated enthusiasm for future performances, including at the upcoming Indigenous Language Theatre festival.