National Indigenous People's Day

Pawâkan Macbeth is Reneltta Arluk’s groundbreaking reimagining of Shakespeare’s darkest play into Cree history, legend and cosmology. Pawâkan Macbeth is set during pre-colonization, when Plains Cree were allied with Stoney Nakoda, and at war with Blackfoot over territory, food, supplies and trade. When true autonomy existed among Indigenous Peoples and with that their spirits, their wisdom, practices, makers, tricksters, shifters, their darkness and light. When the Canadian Government were making their way west with Sir John A. MacDonald as its leader. Harsh environments brought immense fear, starvation, and uncertainty together to awaken the darkest of Cree spirits, the Wihtiko – a being with insatiable greed. Through the exploration of Plains Cree language, history, stories and cosmology Arluk asks, What is it to be human? What makes a human vulnerable to the Wihtiko? Inspired by working with the youth of Frog Lake First Nation, and shared stories from Elders in the Treaty 6 region, Arluk has created a terrifying journey through love, greed, honour and betrayal, with coyote howlers teaching us that resurgence requires balance.