Laronde suggested that the screen be-
hind the dancers show a 1921 letter that Can- ada’s Department of Indian Affairs Deputy Superintendent Duncan Campbell Scott wrote to suppress Indigenous dancing. The letter implemented the Indian Act of 1876, which banned traditional practices for Indige- nous peoples in Canada. The letter stays intact for a short interval, and then the words start to crumble. They fall away off the page and form a constellation. “It hits home to people who see the letter and those racist words crumble in front of them,” says Laronde. “Without say- ing anything, a great deal is said.” Such political statements are mixed into
“Trace” because “those kinds of letters are traces of the past but also traces of the pres- ent in terms of how people perceive and think about us as Indigenous people. We know that their thinking, unfortunately, is still alive and well to a large extent,” says Laronde.
EXPANDING WORLDVIEWS
Red Sky strives to change how people perceive Indigenous artistry and people through its performances. Laronde says she hopes those who see them will experience a newfound sense of appreciation for Anishinaabe culture and perhaps even learn to view the world and the universe as her people do. The Anishinaabe have “a very multiverse
perspective of the creation of Earth or of the universe,” Laronde says. “’Uni’ means ‘one’ and ‘verse’ means ‘song,’ so it’s one song. However, whose song is that? Why is there one song?” “Our stories are not just about people or
a human-centric perspective of the world,” she says. “There’s different kinds of worlds that coexist simultaneously that we walk in every day of our lives. Yes, the physical world, yes, the Earth world, but we’re connected up to the spiritual world, an underworld, and a dream world. All of these worlds exist simultaneously. I love the layered worlds and multiexperiences since it’s more reflective of our everyday experience.” She hopes her audiences “see a more-
than-human world and that the human-cen- tric way of looking at things and perceiving the universe is so restrictive and so limiting,” she says. “Why have such a limited percep- tion when you can widen your lens and be much more embracing of all sentient and nonsentient beings? Humans are only just one part of the profound beauty.” X
Millie Knapp (Anishinaabe) writes about Indigenous art, culture and life.
American Indian magazine Managing Editor James Adams contributed to this story.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 15
PHOTO BY DAVID HOU/COURTESY RED SKY PERFORMANCE
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