Drum-making workshop
The Stardale girls are currently involved in a number of arts activities that are quite frankly second to none and in many ways are one of a kind. While some of the girls come from households where there is no money or support for culturally enriching activities, their participation in the Stardale programs offers them access to some incredible opportunities.
One that has been going on since January is my own script development workshop for a new, as yet untitled, film. In this film we are examining racism as it exists in the lives the girls. The film we create this summer will be a companion piece to last year’s project, The Road. As was the case with The Road, it’s an ambitious project for a small organization but as the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Those who see The Road are touched and moved by the omnipresence of a drum beat that can be heard throughout the film. (For those who haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for? You can find it and watch it for a small fee at theroadfilm.ca) Having heard enough comments about the effectiveness of the drum in the film, in conceiving a companion piece it seemed to me that if there was one thing we absolutely needed, that would be a drum beat.
After talking to Helen McPhaden about this, we took it one step further and thought wouldn’t it be awesome if the girls could take part in a drum-making workshop and that’s exactly what they have been doing this weekend. Drum-making has long been an important element of First Nations culture and the teachings that go along with the actual making of the drum will afford the girls greater understanding of their history and culture. The workshop was led by Chantal Gagnon whose singing and drumming is featured in The Road.
How exactly we will incorporate the drums and drumming into our new film remains to be seen. It’s possible that we won’t. But at the end of the day, the girls will own a beautiful drum that they made themselves. They will have learned a bit more about their culture. They will be enriched in so many ways.
The final element of the current cultural boot camp the girls are engaged in is a painting workshop with artist Oli Siska. There are a number of girls involved in the program who show a prodigious flare for drawing and I have no doubt the work generated in the painting workshop will be extraordinary. Native Canadian artists have distinguished themselves for decades. The recent celebration of Bill Reid on Canadian coins shows an acceptance of their art by mainstream society. I see no reason why any of our girls can’t make valuable contributions to the world of art, the way they have in film with their fine work creating The Road.
What do young people need to get ahead? In mind, it’s a pretty simple recipe for success. First, they need opportunities for participation. Second, they need guidance and instruction. Third, they need someone who believes in them and encourages them along the way.
They get all of the above and more through the Stardale program.