Giizhig
March 2021
March 18 - 19 - 20, 2021
"A moment of calm, a meeting, an exchange, a smile... it's a journey through and into community, a brief encounter for connection and reflection. It's a conversation between our urban landscape and the natural environment.
Throughout this movement-based, traveling performance, GIIZHIG brings community together while physically apart, uplifting our spirits through our shared senses and with our collective imaginations."
“Giizhig” is the Anishinaabemowin - Ojibway word for “cedar”, and pronounced “gee zhig”
CREDITS:
Director: Michael Caldwell
Artistic advisor: Isorine Marc
Created with and performed by: Aria Evans, Irma Villafuerte, Jane-Alison McKinney, Jim 'Many Hats' Adams and Michael Caldwell
Poem by: Mahlikah Awe:ri
Produced and presented by: Jamii
Onen’takwenhténhtshera (Cedar)
Aromatic sensations of ethereal
Stability Somatic Sovereignty
Silence is our Sanctuary
With every sip my spirit drifts
To ancestral woodlands
Where her tender protective bows
Inwardly sway me back
To Lodge Prayer Ceremony
Releasing the toxicity
Which threatens reciprocity
Grandmother Cedar’s Roots
Trust where our ancestors planted us
Embrace the constant growing
While invoking ancient ways of knowing
Medicinal pathways of healing and flowing
Grandmother Cedar’s Branches
Expand our capacity, tenacity
To hold space for self-love
Granting peace of mind
To rise above, clouds of incertitude & hopelessness
Presence is our gift
Grandmother Cedar’s Leaves
Grieve, and let go, of inter-generational suffering & sorrow
Movement is our medicine
Soothing cavernous, wounded marrow
So, we inaugurate a promising tomorrow
Grandmother Cedar’s BarkTake’s shame off the table
Fear has no place in a warrior’s heart
We are not societies labels
We will exhale, smoke signals
Declaring “I AM ENOUGH!”
Grandmother Cedar’s Trunk
Stands in our highest truth
Embodying the beautiful proof
That with every act of surrender
We call into existence the splendour
Of reclaiming versions, versions of ourselves
Longing to fill our restorative brew
Swallowing fermented fragments
Steeped in lineages not to be forgotten
Rest is Resiliency, Energy is our Currency
Infused with everything we need, to be whole
By Mahlikah Awe:ri Enml’ga’t Saqama’sgw ©2021
In partnership with
Funded by
