Experience Indigenous artistry in all its forms, including comedy, theatre, markets and more

May 29, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – This National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, the NAC celebrates the strength and resilience of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation, their people, cultures, and perspectives.

Throughout June, we feature Indigenous artists in a curated collection of activities and events including the comedy show Got Land?, Indigenous Trivia Night and our Summer Indigenous Art Market. The highlight of the month is the theatre production You Used to Call Me Marie... by actor, playwright, director, and producer Tai Amy Grauman.

A love story, a historical epic, and a celebration of Métis song and dance, You used to call me Marie… brings to life the stories of the Callihoo women in Alberta. We follow Iskwewo, Napew, and Mistatim ('horse' in Michif) in eight intertwined love stories as the Métis Nation rises across the plains — through tales of the fur trade, governance, and organizing from the 1930s to today — in a beautiful new play featuring dance and live music, from French fiddle to contemporary country.

Tai Amy Grauman is Métis Cree with ties to Haudenosaunee voyageurs from Ardrossan, Alberta. Her family comes from a community in Alberta formerly known as St. Paul des Métis. She is the first elected Provincial Women’s Representative as part of the first Otipemisiawk Métis Government within Alberta.

Join us online and at the National Arts Centre to honour and engage with Indigenous artists through workshops, performances, discussions, and more.

For more information on our June programming, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/series/national-indigenous-history-month

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of The Slaight Family Foundation, Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group, Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites, and Major Sponsor of Indigenous Programming TD Bank Group. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca