LITTLE CURRENT—Students at Little Current Public School (LCPS) sat spellbound in wonder, interspersed with gales of laughter and delight, as student actors from the Debajehmujig Storytellers breathed life into the traditional ancient Anishinaabe tales of ‘The Trickster’ Nanaboozhoo.
The Trickster, perhaps more familiarly known as Nanabush, is an Anishinaabe warrior/hero/demigod whose adventures carry moral messages and have been passed down through generations by oral tradition.
Under the direction of veteran Debaj alum Bruce Naokwegijig, students Reese Wabegijig, Brandon Shawana, Bradleigh Trudeau and Daniel Recollet-Mejaki, who are studying the craft at Debajehmujig Storytellers (supported through the Canadian Arts Training Fund), brought the Nanabush stories of ‘How the Rosebushes Got Their Thorns,’ ‘Nanabush Loses His Eyeballs,’ ‘Nanabush and the Corn,’ ‘How the Rabbit Got His Long Ears,’ ‘Nanabush and the Wild Geese’ and ‘Nanabush and the Chipmunk’ to the delight of the staff and students gathered in the school gym.
“It was very exciting,” said LCPS principal Christie Case. “Our students have actually taken a lot of these stories in their studies—it is good for them to see the stories in action.”
Mr. Noakwegijig, Debajehmujig Storytellers’ new artistic director, said that the student program has been going great. “They have been in training for about four weeks now, including just recently sections on improv, and they have been rehearsing the stories for this for a while now,” he said. The students’ next performance will be in Ottawa and the LCPS gig was the perfect preparation for that show.
Other funders of the Debaj student program include the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Social Assistance Transfer Funding Program.
The Nanabush performances were part of the LCPS annual community picnic, which also featured an exhibition of student art.
“We usually have a talent show, but we thought this year we might mix it up a bit,” said Principal Case. “The students really seemed to have enjoyed the performances.”
