9 minute read
STYLE
STYLE Warrior entrepreneurs find their Decolonial groove
by Janet McDonald
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There is no shortage of heartbreak and despair in the world on any given day—whether it’s Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine or the recent identification of 14 possible residential school graves sites in Saskatchewan. These identifications with ground-penetrating radar cannot really be called a “discovery” because residential school survivors and their families have been shouting from the
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Burnaby
Casey Desjarlais wears a Decolonial long-sleeve shirt while her partner, Dakota Bear, sports one of their Indigenous-owned company’s black hoodies. Photo by Dee Helson Rude Gang. rooftops and telling us the grim reality for generations.
Recently, there have been positive signs of change, from the Pope asking to be forgiven to the Hudson’s Bay Company transferring its downtown Winnipeg store back to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization of Manitoba.
Closer to home, there’s a giant glimmer of hope in the form of warrior entrepreneurs and power couple Casey Desjarlais (Nehiyaw/Saulteaux) and Dakota Bear (Nehiyaw). They are two local artists and activists who are designing clothing with messages that will resonate in the hearts and minds of Inuk, First Nations, and Métis people across North America.
Originally their clothing line was a side business. Bear and Desjarlais were busy with speaking engagements, talking to schools, holding workshops, and travelling around teaching traditions learned from their elders. Desjarlais would share things
A SOUND LIKE THIS CHOR LEONI & THE LEONIDS
MAY 12 & 13 | 7:30PM
– Casey Desjarlais
she learned from her kookum (grandmother) about medicine and regalia, while Bear spent time doing creative workshops with youths. When COVID hit, they had to stop traveling and performing, but it gave them an opportunity to focus on their clothing brand.
In 2020 they rebranded their line as Decolonial Clothing Co., teaching themselves everything from graphic design and marketing, to website building. An early design of Sitting Bull speaks to their identities as Indigenous people. Decolonial Clothing allows them to pass on messages, making sure that their visibility as Indigenous people stays strong. It’s a their way of promoting decolonization as their brand grows.
“It’s very powerful—we haven’t seen ourselves,” Desjarlais told the Straight by phone. “Growing up, we haven’t seen ourselves represented in the media or education systems that mould our lives.”
In an interview at their Burnaby workshop, Bear said that their clothing sparks conversation.
“As Indigenous people we are on the forefront of all the world’s catastrophes, such as deforestation and the water crisis,” Bear told the Straight. “Young Indigenous people are fixing those problems, bringing solutions and reclaiming the knowledge of their ancestors.
“Collectively elevating our voice and having it reach the masses is vital because it’s at a time when it is badly needed,” he continued. “Everyone needs to hear that, not just young Indigenous people, but for everyone to feel empowered. To see what we are seeing from an Indigenous perspective—of the way we see the world, and the way that western capitalism has brought us to where we are today.”
Bear and Desjarlais are also keen to give back. They are about to launch Land Back Records and are in the process of building a recording studio above their workshop. It is a space designed by and for Indigenous musicians and youths to create music and art. They say that a percentage of the profits will be reinvested into their nonprofit venture Land Back Society. The long-term vision is to purchase parcels of land to build healing lodges, water filtration systems, and housing so they can have a safe space for Indigenous people to go and physically reconnect with the land. It will be another way for their music, storytelling, and poetry to continue to amplify their voices.
As mentors, they integrate what they call “warrior entrepreneurship”. Mentees are not just taught simply how to run a business; instead, they learn a warrior-entrepreneurship model, centred around being an anticolonial actor. The goal is to revitalize an Indigenous economy and lift people out of poverty, thereby diminishing the dependency created through colonialism. In this way, these entrepreneurs become mentors, showing young people that they can rebuild their communities while retaining their values.
Bear and Desjarlais know that Indigenous people battle colonial mindsets wherever they go. They’re aware that it takes a lot of courage to become agents of self-determination. They feel that they are building economic power while navigating the land and taking care of the planet.
It is heavy work as partners, parents, mentors, and business owners who take care of their families and community.
“It is important to ground ourselves; we collectively make things easier for each other,” Desjarlais said.
Across Turtle Island, there is a shift happening with young people reclaiming their spirit, names, culture, and languages, and bringing it to a modern world. On every level, young Indigenous people are reclaiming how to live their lives, and to them, it’s a beautiful moment. g
The Land Back Records launch party takes place on May 5 at Fortune Sound Club with performances by Dakota Bear and Drezus. There will also be a tribute to murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people and a showcase of other young Indigenous artists. Ten percent of the profits will go to the Land Back Society.
ARTS Himmat finds joy within an intergenerational gulf
by Charlie Smith
A father and daughter, Banth (Munish Sharma) and Ajit (Gavan Cheema), forge a deep connection in Himmat through family stories that bring them closer together. Photo by Wendy D Photography.
The Cultch will present the world premiere of Theatre Conspiracy’s Himmat, which is produced in partnership with Gurp Sian and South Asian Arts and runs from May 6 to 15 at the Historic Theatre.
Theatre Conspiracy’s new play, Himmat, originated in Surrey Memorial Hospital, of all places. It was there that the theatre company’s then–artist-in-residence, Gavan Cheema, would spend many hours visiting her father, who was going through cancer treatment. Her dad was a workhorse throughout his life, labouring at different times in lumber mills, as a roofer, and as a truck driver.
“I was taken to the hospital and spending the most amount of time I’ve ever spent with him in my life,” Cheema recalls in a phone interview with the Straight. “Then he started telling me all these stories that I had never heard of.”
Her dad was born in the village of Cheema in Punjab’s Jalandhar district, half a world away from where Cheema was born and raised in Surrey. She was curious to unpack this family history, so she would run these tales by her mom and her siblings. Much to her surprise, their versions often differed from that of her dad.
“That was where Himmat came from,” Cheema says. “I had all these stories. I didn’t know what to do with them.”
She consulted with playwright Tim Carlson, who turned out to be the dramaturge on Himmat, to seek his advice. Then she started piecing the stories together.
“There were a lot of turbulent times, but there was also a lot of joy,” Cheema says.
Her dad had certainly experienced trauma—to his body from a life of blue-collar work but also to his spirit through the pain of immigration. “Through that, I started to pull threads of how that affects relationships, how that affects addiction, and all these things,” she adds. “I started to get into some things that were a little bit deeper.”
A major breakthrough came when she gave herself permission to take apart these stories and reassemble them in a way that made sense to her. That meant adding some of her own truths, taking liberties with what she had heard, and, in some cases, simply making up aspects to improve the narrative.
“There are some things in the show that are totally fictional,” Cheema admits.
The result is a deeply emotional and honest tale of a working-class father’s struggle with addiction and how his relationship changes over time with his daughter, Ajit. The father, Banth, is played by veteran actor Munish Sharma. And Cheema decided to take on the role of Ajit.
Cheema has been a producer, director, and dramaturge; she has also acted since she was five. But it took several years for her to feel that Himmat was ready to be made into a full-length play. And this marks her first professional acting role.
“At the core, it’s about relationships; it’s about redemption,” Cheema says. “It’s about unpacking a family’s history. Through that, you feel their pain. You see their secrets. You see their love. You see their joy.
“It’s also a piece about healing—physically as well as spiritually,” she adds. “I think that’s really important.”
Himmat is not linear. Cheema explains that there’s a strong tradition of oral storytelling in Punjabi culture. And this play reflects that with humour and a lot of heart at the core.
She felt that Paneet Singh was the person to direct this story. He’s a local playwright, filmmaker, and director whose work is centred around storytelling rooted in the community that he loves and grew up in. Singh also likes to provoke and challenge that community with his work.
Singh tells the Straight by phone that Cheema took a “really courageous step” in deciding to perform as a character similar to herself while trusting a collaborative team with leadership of the production on something so personal.
“I have written things and handed them off to folks to kind of lead creatively—to other directors, to other production teams,” Singh says. “But to be honest, I’ve never written a script and handed it off to someone else and stayed involved in the production in a really robust manner. I imagine it takes a lot of understanding. It takes a lot of collaborative savvy, and it takes a real sensitivity and sensibility to do it.”
He points out that this is one family’s story—not everybody’s story.
“It’s not about alcoholism and addiction,” Singh emphasizes. “Gavan’s story is about…connecting a father and daughter against the backdrop of a situation caused by addiction. It’s a really beautiful human story. It’s told in a way that’s culturally resonant for folks who are coming from the South Asian community.”
Characters switch between Punjabi and English, but projections make it easier for the audience to follow. The play is also set in different times and locations.
To Cheema, the best way to combat stereotypes about her community is to show people the truth, with the goal of creating greater empathy. She also insists that although Punjabi immigrants experienced a great deal of hardship, there is so much more than that to the community.
“We’re not defined by our trauma,” Cheema says. “We’re not defined by our pain. Our people are really resilient. There’s still a lot of love and a lot of service to the community at the core.” g
JOE INK
in partnership with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs proudly presents the world premiere of
DANCE:CRAFT
MAY 20 TO 22
Performances + Exhibition 7pm 2022
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre 149 West Hastings
Tickets: eventbrite.ca | Info: joeink.ca $30 Adults | $25 Students & Seniors + s/c
Performers: Heather Dotto & Joey Matt. Ceramic heads: Debra E Sloan. Photo: Michael Slobodian.
