Waawaate Fobister tells stories that aren’t often told.
In his award-winning one-man show, Agokwe: Gay Love on the Rez, he shares the story of his people—the Ojibwe of the Grassy Narrows First Nation—and of growing up two-spirited on a reservation. The story is autobiographical, although Fobister admits when writing it he took the advice of his mentor: “Write the truth, but write it better.”
“That stuck with me,” he said on the phone from Calgary, where he was performing his show last week, “and I use that in my work. I draw from personal experiences, but I write it better.”
Agokwe, which means two-spirited or wise woman, will be performed at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Feb. 8.
It’s Fobister’s story of unrequited love between two teenage boys, Jake and Mike.
Jake is a traditional dancer and Mike is a young hockey player from a neighbouring reserve. The story tracks the teenagers’ attraction, as they spend months staring at each other from afar before introducing themselves and confessing their desire for one another at a hockey tournament.
It’s through their relationship that Fobister addresses homophobia and explores the impact of European intervention on Canada’s Aboriginal communities, explaining to his audience that traditionally, two-spirited people were an important part of society.
“They didn’t send out or kill gay people, they gave them roles and responsibilities in the community. They became the medicine people. They became the future leaders,” said Fobister. “A lot of our values and views were lost because we went through the residential school system. We lost the language; our dances were banned; our ceremonies were banned.
“These stories aren’t told,” said Fobister, explaining why he wrote Agokwe. “The general Canadian public doesn’t know [our story] and I think storytelling is a powerful way of letting people know.”
Fobister wrote Agokwe in 2008 and later that year it was debuted at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times theatre. The following year, it won six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play.
He has been touring the show ever since, and he is now planning to write a sequel, but this time he won’t be on stage.
“I’m writing the second play about two-spirited females. I’m thinking there will be three or four women,” he said, noting that he already has Aboriginal actresses in mind for the roles.
“That play is going to be set in the 70s. That was a pivotal time for my reserve. It was just relocated from the old-style living into what it is now. It made a big shift in people’s lives.
“It was just a different lifestyle. It was a move into more contemporary living. So it’s about coping with that.”
Fobister plans to sit down and write the new play later this year while he’s visiting his partner in Mexico, and he hopes to have a first draft completed by the summer.
“It’s going to be a hardcore play, like if you see Agokwe, it’s pretty provocative. There’s provocative moments in there ... but it’s also intertwined with wisdom.”
Agokwe is being presented in Jasper by Parks Canada and the Jasper Pride Festival Society.
Jörg Michel, a spokesperson for the festival society, said it’s “extraordinary” that Fobister is bringing his play to Jasper.
“For us as a society, this fits perfectly in our mandate and our mission. Our mission is to create awareness and a safe environment for the LGBT community here in Jasper and for those visiting, and obviously the topic of two-spirited Aboriginals fits into this.”
Ahead of the play on Saturday, there will be a smudgling ceremony at the Sawridge, as well as a silent auction with Aboriginal arts and crafts. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. and the play is at 7 p.m.
Any funds raised by the event will support future Aboriginal awareness and cultural programs facilitated by Parks Canada, as well as future programming by the festival society.
Tickets will be on sale at the door, as well as at Coco’s Cafe, Cafe Mondo, the information centre and online at jasperpride.ca.
Nicole Veerman[email protected]
