I have spent much of my life dreaming about the Metis women who belong to this place. I have spent much of my life wondering where their stories are, how I would find them and where I would go looking.  

As an artist, my purpose is to write and create work that centers Metis women’s stories.  My play ‘You used to call me Marie…’ is all about the story of my ancestor Marie Callihoo and all the generations that came after her. I spent years researching her likeness only to realize that I wasn’t ever going to find her in all the places a person would normally “do research”.  Instead, I found her in the hearts and minds of the Metis women around me.  Now, Marie has become a Metis road show tour, my MFA thesis, a show that has toured theaters around Canada and many keynotes.

Since Marie, I have continued to write plays about her as well as other Metis women in my family whose stories have not yet seen the light of day. ‘Rose and James’ tells the story of a Metis woman at Batoche who falls in love with a Scot, while ‘Wiwimaw’ is about Marie and her sister Rose and ‘Where have all the buffalo gone’ is a version of Marie’s story that has been adapted for younger audiences. 

In a world that has previously prioritized the voices of our heroic men, I hope to move the light to the Metis women who are my heroes. I write the stories of the women around me, and all the women who came before us. I often write love stories because the love in our women’s hearts are so infinite. 

Here’s to the unsung stories of Metis women in my family as well as yours.