Reckoning
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An ARTICLE 11 digital production
When the truth has been incinerated and reconciliation seems impossible, there is Reckoning. Reckoning is an ode to the irreconcilable. A triptych in movement, video and text, Reckoning is an incendiary theatrical presentation of three separate experiences with Indian Residential Schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the fallout that has already reverberated across the country.
Rather than focusing on the history of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system itself, Reckoning instead presents three individual stories of the after-effects from the gathering and sharing of those stories of trauma. Each of the three sections is presented in its own theatrical and filmic style.
Witness is a dance-movement piece featuring an Independent Assessment Hearing adjuticator (Pam Tzeng) whose view of her adopted country is shattered by what she learns from witnessing the testimonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Daughter is a realistic two-handed scene about the complexities that live within a daughter (Quelemia Sparrow) of both a Residential School survivor and an accused abuser in the Residential School system. She and another IRS survivor (Telly James) navigate these rocky shores together in a legendarily awful first date.
Survivor is the video testimony of a survivor (Jonathan Fisher), as he lays bare the abuses he and other children endured in the Residential School System, and plans for a final, viral protest against the insufficiencies of the reconciliation process.
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“I’d like to challenge every settler of European descent to see Reckoning. I want to challenge us to examine the history of Canada, and the legacy of colonization from which we still benefit daily. Learning the truth about the genocide, enslavement, and abuse inflicted upon the Indigenous inhabitants of this land we now call home – while also supporting Indigenous artists like ARTICLE 11 – is the very least we can do.
“I’d like to challenge us to not look away, to make those connections between the past and present, to get angry, and – most importantly – to listen.” -- Jess Gillis, Mooney on Theatre
About ARTICLE 11:
ARTICLE 11 is an Indigenous arts activist creation and production company founded in 2013 by Tara Beagan (Ntlaka’pamux) and Andy Moro (Mixed Euro/Muskegowuk Cree.) It is named for the eleventh article in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artifacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.”
-the 11th Article of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,13/09/2007
Special Thanks: The original Collaborating Elder during creation of Reckoning for the stage was Paul Chaput. The support worker was Jeff D’Hondt. We are forever grateful.