Sept. 25 wrapped up a series of performances on a First Nations play based on the cultural issues First Nations face in Canada. Making Treaty 7 (MT7) sold out shows three nights in a row in Calgary as it continued to wow audience members.
Last February the cast and crew of MT7 suffered the sudden loss of key members Michael Green and Narcisse Blood making this the first time the production has run without the two present.
Blood was a respected elder of the Blood Tribe and had made a significant impact on cast and crew members.
Telly James a performer and writer for MT7 says that Blood had fulfilled a lot of roles that he was missing in his life.
“One of the things I would really look forward to whenever I would do a Making Treaty 7 Event was having Narcisse there and making him laugh.”
MT7 looked to members of Bloods’ community to insure that they were representing his culture the best way they could. It was important to keep the spirits up this year by consulting with other elders who were also involved in the production.
Chris Hsiung a Videographer for MT7 says that Blood had brought a lot of wisdom and knowledge of traditional Blackfoot culture to the production and that is one of the things that will be missed going forward.
“He’s that kind of person who was able to bridge between the Blackfoot culture and the European Culture, he was always so helpful,” says Hsiung.
A lot of the content Blood delivered in the production was so powerful to the audience members that they had carried in old footage from last year’s production into this year.
“I think that was the perfect way to do it, because it really honoured the message he was trying to share,” says Kristin Fedorak, an audience member who has seen MT7 before Bloods’ passing.
Fedorak then goes on to say that she doesn’t think any one else would have been able to deliver that message the same way.
Because Blood had played a huge role in the play both on stage and off stage, Fedorak shares that this year had a different vibe from last year because of Bloods passing.
“Because he started off the play last year, I sort of saw him as a narrator of the history and what had happened, he sort of set the tone for the play,” Fedorak says.
Overall the presence of Blood was missed and it is important for the cast and crew members of Making Treaty 7 to continue to represent both Blood and Greens vision for this play.
Plans for future show dates are already in the works and they’re hoping they can eventually take this production across Canada.
To look for further information about the play you can visit www.Makingtreaty7.com
