Open Letter - Kevin Loring to Ex Machina

Open Letter - Kevin Loring to Ex Machina

Attn: Artistic Leadership of Ex Machina and Theatre Du Soleil,

I am speaking to you as an Indigenous Theatre Artist in Canada.

It is with great concern and disappointment that I am writing you to address the issues arising from your production of Kanata that will run in New York and Paris in the coming months. Billed as “the history of Canada through the prism of relations between Whites and Natives,” it appears that the truth of this production is that it is in fact an analog for the relationship between “Whites” and the Indigenous Peoples of this land. Having read about the process that lead up this production in Le Devoir and hearing accounts from Indigenous artists and leaders who took part in the consultation process I can only conclude that this process was deeply flawed.

Nothing about us without us



There are plenty of examples of Non-Indigenous actors portraying Indigenous characters throughout the history of Canadian Theatre, the most famous being Frances Hyland in the title role of the original production of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. In 1969 there were very few professional Indigenous actors, and yet Indigenous artists: August Schellenberg, Chief Dan George, his son Leonard George, Robert Hall, Frank Lewis, Paul Stanley and Willie Dunn, were all cast in that historic production set in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The Indigenous Theatre Community has fought incredibly hard over the last five decades for a legitimate place on our stages. As a consequence of colonization we have been dismissed and ignored, tokenized and exploited, mocked and stereotyped in publications, stage and cinema. The disenfranchisement from our own voices and stories has been systemic and well resourced, while our languages and cultures our very voices have been ignored, strangled out and starved by official government policies, mainstream media and social ostracization. This alongside the corporal violence, the starvation and mental, physical, emotional and spiritual violence that we have endured at the hands of settlers, the constabulary, the church and the Canadian state since contact.

It is only recently that our stories and artists have been prioritized by the funding bodies, and with that prioritization has come a rush to indigenize artistic programming from non-Indigenous companies and artists who have no stake or understanding of Indigenous communities or perspectives, but a very real understanding of their own bottom lines.

Sometimes out of dire necessity, Indigenous characters have to be portrayed by non-Indigenous actors or the play will not occur. Sometimes perhaps, because of this, the play should not occur. But it is our firm belief that a genuine attempt should be made to cast as many Indigenous actors as possible when a story is about their experiences and cultures is being produced. With Indigenous creative leadership to take responsibility and to give authority for that aesthetic you are less likely to receive backlash from the community. But even in these instances there is no guarantee of this and should always be a choice of last resort.

We encourage engagement with Indigenous artists. The healthy collaboration between Indigenous and Settler artists and companies has been and will continue to be a vital source of inspiration and understanding. These partnerships engender the creation of dynamic art that is authentic and nuanced.

Best Practices
It is not enough to engage in a process of consultation merely to check a box, while the intent is to do whatever you were determined to do in the first place.

It is not sufficient to engage the Indigenous community merely to extract their knowledge and perspectives in order to seem to be doing your due artistic diligence, or to incorporate those perspectives into your imagined version of our very real stories, and yet willfully refuse to engage Indigenous Artists in the telling of that story.

By purposefully excluding Indigenous artists in the creation and presentation of this play you are choosing to be ignorant. You are choosing to hear only yourselves in an imagined perspective where Indigenous Peoples are an idea, a concept without context or inherent authenticity. Our stories are human stories, but, by excluding our presence in the telling of those stories you generalize our very specific struggles and dismiss our specific cultures as meaningless. By presenting them in what amounts to Red Face you are trivializing our existence and perpetuating cultural genocide.
By justifying the exclusion of Indigenous artists in the creative process and ultimate production of Kanata and claim that it was a deliberate artistic choice to exclude them because we are too close to the realities of the story, is patently absurd and deeply patronizing. By that same sentiment no Quebecois play should be created or portrayed by actual Quebecers, better to have Anglophones portray these roles or tell these stories as they would have a better perspective, being so far removed from the actual realities and subjects being depicted. Of course this is ridiculous; Quebec culture is distinct and its distinct voice should be heard. Just as the many Indigenous Peoples in Canada are distinct, with voices that also deserve to be heard.
By not having an understanding of the distinctness of those cultures when attempting to portray them will at best create bad art, and at worst re-enforce misunderstandings and contribute to the invisibility of those peoples. Furthermore, by not heeding the instructions to include Indigenous artists in this production; from the Indigenous advisors whom you sought out, who gave their time to contribute to the betterment of your artistic practices; is willfully ignorant and deeply disappointing.

The process you have undertaken is completely antithetical to the stated objective of this project. To portray: “…the history of Canada through the prism of relations between Whites and Natives.” To not include “the Natives” in the creation and portrayal of the actual play, is incredibly disingenuous. In fact what you are doing by the deliberate omission of an authentic native perspective and the absence of any Indigenous presence on stage is depicting the ongoing colonial history of Canada through the prism of settler colonialisms.

I regret having to make this statement. I had thought that cultural understandings in this country had advanced even a little since 1969. Clearly they have not. It is my hope that you reconsider the lack of Indigenous presence in this upcoming production.

You cannot tell the story of Kanata properly without us, no matter what excuses you make, or justification you can articulate. The opposite of beauty is not ugly, it is injury. It will be awkward. It will be disappointing. And it will be ugly. Because by design it will be exclusive, and therefore injurious.

I hope that you find the humility to change course in this endeavour. It is my sincere hope that the re-engagement with the Indigenous Theatre community taking place on the 19th of July will change your thinking on this issue.

We deserve to be acknowledged for our excellence, our patience and our perseverance in this challenging milieu. We have been generous with you when we have so little to give, and in return you have taken our generosity for granted. We ask that you right this wrong by reimagining this production with Indigenous people in it. We request that you to reconsider the proposed production to incorporate Indigenous artists, and an authentic Indigenous voice in its execution. Or, to not do it at all.

In the spirit of reconciliation and healing.


Sincerely,

Kevin Loring


In solidarity:

Signing in support, and with an addendum stating the necessity of conceiving of Indigenous narrative projects with Indigenous
artistic and administrative leaders from the onset, we are co-directors of Indigenous Artist Activist company, ARTICLE 11.
Tara Beagan and Andy Moro
Ntlaka'pamux and Mixed Euro/Omushkego Cree, respectively.
Based in Mohkintsis (Calgary), Niitsitapi territory and more recently also Tsuu T'iina, Stoney Nakoda and Métis Region 3 land.

gookchem xhoo!