“Unikkaaquat” is a wonderful circus show illustrating Inuit creation myths. What a privilege it was to watch this show – to have performers bring these stories to my hometown for me and other Vancouverites. From 1880 to 1951, Indigenous cultural ceremonies were outlawed in Canada under the Potlatch Ban in the Indian Act. Now, 69 years later, these actors, musicians, and acrobats are performing for sold-out audiences across Canada. Sometimes it feels like the world is sliding backwards, but moments like this remind me how far we’ve come.
That said, we still have much further to go. In the talkback afterwards, the performers told us that Nunavut is the only territory/province that does not have its own performing arts centre. Creating this show took four years, and they had to travel south to make something about their home. One performer said, “Imagine having to go to Toronto to create something about Vancouver.” When they perform at home, they do so in gyms, churches, and schools.
It’s hard to imagine seeing the show in a gym because it’s larger than life. It takes up the whole stage with breath-taking acrobatics and a screen playing beautiful illustrations by Germaine Arnaktauyok. The music is so haunting, though, that we’re sure it would sound amazing anywhere. The audience was warned at the beginning that we might be confused and not to worry because that’s part of cultural exchange. From the first act, we knew we were not going to fully understand the stories so we tried to relax into the performance. Our nerd brains had a hard time letting go, though, so afterwards we went into the lobby to read all myths. In retrospect, however, we understood the spirit of the stories.
Here’s one of the shorter ones:
The Northern Lights
From our stories, we know that the ribbons of light and colour that can occasionally be seen are spirits at play. How can anyone be lonely or truly mourn when you can see those came before playing in the sky?
If you’d like to donate to a performing arts centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut, you can do so here:
– Bethany Dobson and Franny Varty