Wiwimaw

Wiwimaw tells 2 stories of Metis sisters (Marie and Rose) interwoven between the height of the fur trade (1860s), the age of the Metis road allowance peoples during the Great Depression (1930s) and the present. We watch these two historical narratives unfold next to the present beside the river, where these stories and these women would have always been. Throughout the piece, we watch the ways in which Spiderwoman weaves their fate, the way the stars create their destiny and the choices they make about love and the future of the Metis Nation. Marie and Rose in both 1860 and 1930 are wives to Metis leaders, activists and ‘rebels’ within Alberta’s Metis movement. In Wiwimaw we watch as these women reveal that they were the real leaders of the political organizing and the fight for Metis peoples in Alberta. Most importantly, Wiwimaw is a love story between Metis women, the real Metis love story. Woven together using dance, music and language (French and Michif) this play gives audiences a glimpse into Metis women’s stories within Alberta.

Commissioned by Nightswimming’s 5X25 program