Celebrating Indigenous resiliency through performance

For Shoneena lee Loss, the thought of her being a presenter at The Indigenous Resilience Festival (IRF) didn’t sink in until the night before.

After talking with the other presenters, they agreed they were all there with the same goal – to share stories of Indigenous resilience.

In her presentation, Mitakye Oyasin – We are all one, she talks about seeing the silver lining in everything, even after a tough couple of years caused on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For me, it was learning my language online, I spent a lot of time learning my language, community gatherings online, I felt there was a lot of growth in that space from comfort of my own home,” she said. “And today, that’s why I feel I’m here; is to share that silver lining so we know that in the depths of hard times, that’s where growth happens.”

Loss was among the over 40 Indigenous artists from different communities across British Columbia to share their creative expression through storytelling, dance, and music.

The idea of the Indigenous Resilience Festival was created a year ago, as a chance to bring Indigenous voices to the forefront after the pandemic.

“We wanted to show how resilient Indigenous have been and how resilient they continue to be,” said Chelsea Boan, Community Engagement Events Coordinator at the RCA. “We’ve all shown so much strength during the pandemic, so this is just a platform to say, ‘this is how I’ve been resilient.’”

Alongside resilience, the day is about togetherness and community.

“We had 1,000 R.S.V.Ps for this event, which shows me how important and how much of a need there is for Indigenous culture,” Boan said. “People want to learn, people want to support and show they’re an ally.”