illioo Native Theatre, in partnership with Minority Voices Theatre at Very Little Theatre presents The Woman Who Was a Red Deer Dressed for the Deer Dance. This is the story of a grandmother and her grand-daughter who live in “different worlds” — the grandmother holds on to her cultural practices during a time of reservation termination; the grand-daughter must navigate a contemporary world. In this play, we witness their struggles as Indigenous women to honor tradition and culture in the contemporary world. Each must reach across a generational divide to (re)connect to one another and the meaning of heritage in the present day. This show plays at Very Little Theatre in our intimate Stage Left space.

The program will also include a discussion of the origins of this play, an introduction to traditional Native storytelling, and a post-production examination of the play’s meaning, style, and importance, led by Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook/Cree/Grand Ronde).

Thank you for making this such a successful event.