Chapter 1
VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND DRAMATIC SUBVERSION
The truest poetic function of the theatre — to invent metaphors which poignantly suggest a nation’s nightmares and afflictions. — Robert Brustein —Harbin et al. (2005: 359) If theatre is a tool of transformation, which we know it to be, then we have a responsibility that the stories that we tell will be stories of our becoming, of our becoming whole. — Monique Mojica and Ric Knowles (2009a: 6)
Decolonization through Dramatic Resistance: Framing the Discussion On June 3, 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (mmiwg) released its final report (https:// www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/) concerning the pervasive and politically neglected issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The federally funded report suggests that systemic racism is among the main causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls and recognizes that the government itself has enabled — and continues to enable — this violence. The report has 231 recommendations and calls to action that have, to date, not been enacted. The federal government promised to release its Action Plan in a timely manner but has used the covid-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown as a rationalization to further delay the process. In the meantime, the pandemic-related closures and restrictions have only exacerbated social isolation and violence 1
