A New Westminster resident will be among the performers for a special presentation honouring the First Nations presence in Greater Vancouver.
Storyweaving, a multidisciplinary presentation, is onstage at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre in May.
It's being presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre and the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, in partnership with the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.
The production weaves together stories, poems and personal memories with oral histories, cultural teachings, West Coast dances and the ancient bone game of Slahal.
New Westminster's Marge C. White is one of the featured performers.
White, who was born into the Obeit band of Bamfield, is a storyteller who will share memories of life in residential school.
White is one of the founding members of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Society and an executive director of the Vancouver Indian Centre.
She's a senator for the National Association of Friendship Centres and a founding member of the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres' Elders Council.
Her multi-faceted community work has earned her an Order of B.C. and an Order of Canada.
White is part of a cast of aboriginal artists, dancers, elders and Downtown Eastside community members. In Storyweaving, they help an old man, the Old One, open up to his life's journey through the teachings of the medicine wheel. His journey home gives voice to the experiences of the urban aboriginal community - and, over the course of the journey, ancestral memories emerge of the history of the Coast Salish peoples.
"Storyweaving is about giving voice to those that have lived within and around the Canadian legislation of the Indian Act," explains director Renae Morriseau. "And so many of us moved to the city of Vancouver and found a home there. Our social justice and educational efforts from the 1950s through to today continue to reflect our passion for life, love and harmony. Storyweaving is about our hopes for a good future, guided by the principles of our cultural past."
Storyweaving takes place at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings St., in the Chief Simon Baker Room.
It's on May 11 to 13 and May 18 to 20, with Friday and Saturday night performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Tickets are on a sliding scale from $0 to $20, and seating is first-come, first-served.
For information, call 604-628-5672 or see www.vancouvermovingtheatre.com, www.heartofthecityfestival.com or www.vafcs.org.
