Tuesday 19 May 2015

The Saskatchewan Filmpool At the Cathedral Village Arts Festival

One of our partners for the Stories of Integration Project is the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative. Incorporated in 1977, the Filmpool is one of the most successful and active artist-run centres in Canada.

This week, in partnership with Regina's Cathedral Village Arts Festival, the Filmpool will present Screening Under The Steeple at The Artesian on 13th. The event will showcase a collection of short independent films produced by Filmpool members from across Saskatchewan. Each year, the Filmpool presents about 50 events for its members, the artistic community, Regina citizens and Saskatchewan. 

The screening will be followed by the premiere of RIIS From Amnesia, a feature-length documentary, written and directed by Janine Windolph and Trudy Stewart, on the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS), its descendants and legacy.

The Saskatchewan Filmpool provided support for the production of RIIS From Amnesia. Each year, the Filmpool supports the production of more than 60 independent films and provides members with opportunities to screen their films at numerous events, venues and festivals in Saskatchewan and beyond.

In 2013, the Filmpool was the recipient of a Lieutenant Governor's Arts Award in the category of Leadership in the Arts - Organization. The Filmpool's unique and innovative programming reflects the individual and collective expression of Saskatchewan people, and the important role that creativity, art and culture play within society. It publishes the bi-annual 
Splice Magazine, which has existed for 35 years and is one of the only magazines in Canada providing a forum, voice and context for independent, indigenous filmmaking.

The Filmpool functions as a gathering point for aboriginal, rural, immigrant and women filmmakers by providing outreach opportunities to these communities, including both administrational and technical support for Queer City CinemaIPUFF (International Puppet Underground Film Festival, mispon (A Celebration of Indigenous Filmmaking), Poetry and Film night and many others. 

Hope to see you at Screening Under the Steeple and the premiere of RIIS From Amenisa.


Monday 27 April 2015

Fostering Fransaskois Culture

One of my favourite stories of integration involves singing, records and the post office.

Paul Campagne’s grandparents came to Canada in the early 1900s from France and settled in Willow Bunch, SK. When Paul was growing up, they couldn’t find French music in Saskatchewan, so his father would call a Montreal record store and ask them to send him French music so that he could share it with his children. Paul remembers getting boxes of records in the mail when he was a kid. The French music he listened to as a child inspired Paul to sing. Every year, he runs a Francophone festival on his family farm in memory of his parents.
Willow Bunch, SK from www.willowbunch.ca
Paul and his siblings also went on to form Canadian folk music groups, Folle Avoine and later Hart Rouge. One of our partner organizations, Conseil culturel fransaskois, was instrumental in fostering young Fransaskois singer-songwriters like the Campagne family. Formed in 1974, the organization was mandated to foster the development of Fransaskois culture. According to its website:

Le Conseil culturel fransaskois s’engage à fournir un appui concerté et soutenu à la communauté fransaskoise dans son développement artistique et culturel. Il voit à l’intégration de la culture dans les écoles fransaskoises et d’immersion, facilite la diffusion de spectacles dans les communautés et offre des formations artistiques.

“The Conseil culturel fransaskois develops programming, policies, and activities that will allow the Fransaskois community to achieve its cultural and creative potential thereby increasing its economic viability. The organization helps facilitate the overall cultural and artistic development of French artists and cultural workers.”

The Conseil culturel fransaskois is also a sponsor for Saskatoon’s week long Francophone Film Festival, Cinergie, which kicks off tonight, Monday, April 27. This year, Cinergie celebrates its 10th anniversary, with five days of Francophone films from the Prairies, Canada and beyond. The films range from coming-of-age stories to animation, romance and drama. Learn more about the festival at cinergiesk.ca



Thursday 16 April 2015

"Come & Join Us": Powwow welcomes everyone

A friend of mine told me the other day that he wanted to go to the 37th annual First Nations University of Canada Powwow in Regina this past weekend, but wasn’t sure if non-Indigenous people were allowed to go. This reminded me of an interview we did with First Nations elder Maria Linklater for the Stories of Integration Project.

Born on Thunderchild First Nation, Linklater moved to the city of Thunder Bay and brought her cultural traditions with her. She did craftwork, held feasts and taught people how to make quilts and do beadwork. Linklater told us it’s important to her that we “enjoy one another’s way of life.”

Keeping in line with this philosophy, the FNUC powwow was open to anyone with an interest in attending. As Elder Linklater said, “Come and join us when we have feasts, when we have round dances, and have an open mind.”

As a non-Indigenous person, I had the honour of attending the powwow this past weekend with friends. It was powerful to watch the more than 650 registered dancers fill the Brandt centre stadium during Grand Entry, to smell the burning sweetgrass and to enjoy the sound of the traditional drummers and singers.

To view more photos visit Michael Keith Dubois' album on Facebook here.

Powwows take place across North America. For a list of upcoming powwows in Canada and Saskatchewan, click here.



Thursday 9 April 2015

Saskatchewan Ukrainian Community


One of the first interviews we did for the Stories of Integration Project was with Alice Derow in Canora. Her grandparents were Ukrainian and immigrated to Canada in 1898. It took them two weeks to get to Halifax from eastern Europe. Later, they settled in Yorkton, SK. Their first home was a one-room log cabin, which housed five adults and five children. The cabin was plastered with clay, and heated by an oven. Alice told us that her grandparents were farmers and wanted a better life for their children. When we spoke with Alice, she was active in her church and sang in the choir, saying that it was important to her to pass on Ukrainian traditions and language.
Alice Derow, Canora, 2013

Alice is also on the executive of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Canora branch. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Saskatchewan Provincial Council is one of our partner organizations and is "an inclusive, self-sustaining, vibrant organization that serves the Saskatchewan Ukrainian community to maintain, develop and share its Ukrainian Canadian identity, culture and aspirations."

On the UCC-SPC website, you'll find lots of opportunities to contribute to, and participate in, Ukrainian culture in Saskatchewan. You can enter a 50/50 lottery, the proceeds from which support cultural, heritage, educational, youth projects and activities. You can read about the history of Ukrainians in Saskatchewan, check out a calendar of events, which includes everything from a Ukrainian Dance Festival in Prince Albert to a Concert for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine in Saskatoon, read about the organization's services and programming and much more.

Do you have a story to share about Ukrainian culture? Tell it to us in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #WeAreSK

Tuesday 31 March 2015

Saskatchewan German Council


One of our partner organizations, the Saskatchewan German Council, is dedicated to promoting the heritage, culture and interests of Saskatchewan people of German-speaking backgrounds. Its mission is to “to preserve, promote and further German language, traditions and culture for all people of Saskatchewan by engaging people of all ages to become active and involved partners in a vibrant multicultural community in Saskatchewan.”

There are a number of upcoming events at the Regina German Club and German Cultural Centre in Saskatoon that promote German culture. Want to attend a Spargelfest or listen to a German choirYou can attend a workshop on buying a house, go to an Easter Sunday Brunch or take German-Canadian cooking classes.

While traveling Saskatchewan during Culture Days 2013, we stopped at the Harvest Wine Festival at the Regina German Club to eat Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake) and enjoy a choir singing traditional German songs (see photo to the right). 

Got a story to share about your German family or upbringing? Comment below or share it on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #WeAreSK.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Dispelling Myths about the Niqab through Story

Canada is currently having a national debate about the niqab, the face veil worn by a small number of Muslim women, after a woman did not remove hers during a citizenship ceremony. She then asked a federal court to make a ruling about the legality of the Conservative government’s policy that stipulates women must remove the niqab during the oath-swearing portion of a citizenship ceremony.

A passionate debate on the matter has emerged, with some people saying the niqab is rooted in a sexist culture and that it is a practice oppressive to women. While teaching a course on Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of Regina, a student from Syria told me that her decision to wear the hijab, a veil that covers the head and chest, was not forced on her by sexism; rather, it was a personal, spiritual decision.

Stories are important for bringing a new understanding and awareness. They can help dispel myths, break stereotypes and correct false assumptions. Stories are also a way for people to express their truths. Rather than talk about Muslim women who wear the niqab, it would be useful to make space for niqab-wearing women to be able to share their stories and for everyone else to listen.

In this study, Women in Niqab Speak: A Study of the Niqab in Canada, 81 women were interviewed, and “being forced” to wear the niqab was never provided as a reason for wearing it.

In this article, Zunera Ishaq, the woman at the centre of the niqab debate, writes, It’s precisely because I won’t listen to how other people want me to live my life that I wear a niqab. Some of my own family members have asked me to remove it. I have told them that I prefer to think for myself.” 

She also shares this: “Aside from the religious aspect, I like how it makes me feel: like people have to look beyond what I look like to get to know me. That I don’t have to worry about my physical appearance and can concentrate on my inner self. That it empowers me in this regard.”

In this powerful interview that aired on The Current, three women who wear, or have worn, the niqab share their reasons for choosing to wear it, as well as the impact that choice has had on their lives and their loved ones. 

As we collected stories from Saskatchewan immigrants, newcomers and Indigenous communities for the Stories of Integration Project, a noticeable theme emerged. People expressed the importance of being able to retain their unique cultural customs, values and practices. As one woman, Xiaofeng from China, said, “I think multiculturalism is great because it's like a rainbow. You see a rainbow, and it's colourful.”

Another woman, Ingri, immigrated to Weyburn from Chile, and told us a story about going shopping with a friend from El Salvador. The Salvadorian woman would wear her apron instead of a purse, said Ingri, who appreciated that her friend could continue practicing her cultural customs in Saskatchewan, instead of being forced to assimilate into Canadian culture.

One of our PSAs, “From Many Peoples Strength,” reflects the idea that everyone has a story to tell. Sharing our stories and respecting one another’s culture helps build a stronger community.


Thursday 12 March 2015

The Sharing of Two Cultures: Bratwurst & Perogies

Oskar's Deli and Sausage Haus had a special place in the hearts and bellies of the people who belonged to the German community in Regina. When the deli closed last year after 39 years of business, its customers needed to find a new place to buy bratwurst. 

Last week, the CBC told a touching story of how the Ukrainian Co-op in Regina stepped in to recreate some of Oskar's products for the German community. The Ukrainian Co-op, managed by Karen Rogers, even ended up with Oskar's secret sausage recipe so that its former customers could continue to buy and enjoy it. Read the CBC story here.

What a beautiful story that exemplifies the coming together of two cultures. It's a story of collaboration, cooperation and respect, reflecting some of the themes from the Stories of Integration PSAs. As one woman said in the PSA, Culture is a Two-Way Street, the relationship between two cultures is "more of a give and take relationship and eventually it develops into friendship."