Raven Mother: Dancers of Damelahamid

Raven Mother is the Dancers of Damelahamid’s newly choreographed dance work in honour of late Elder Margaret Harris (1931 – 2020). Raven Mother illustrates the vast impact Elder Harris had on the revitalization of Indigenous dance along the Northwest Coast, and the integral role of women in holding cultural knowledge. It celebrates our mothers who created the stronghold of these artforms and influenced the next generation of women. Raven Mother illuminates the profound leadership of our mothers, their essential contribution in this resurgence, and the force and transformation of this awakening.

Raven Mother is the Dancers of Damelahamid’s most ambitious production and will be the culmination of generations of artistic and cultural work. With Raven Mother, movement, song, regalia, sculpture, and design, are interwoven with the embodied narrative. The Raven crest, manifested in multiple forms, embodies transformation, the strengthening of culture, the unveiling of a new spirit, and breathing life into a promise made to the children of generations to come.

Raven Mother speaks to our current realities, drawing from a rich lineage of teachings and insights. Innovation is conditional upon revealing the truths of today to pursue cultural endurance and intergenerational sustenance. Raven Mother is a tangible remembrance of a woman’s spirit, marking the shift between generations that has sparked a new role for our daughters as the force to hold their grandmother’s vision.

Late Elder Margaret Harris was a respected Cree Elder from Northern Manitoba.  She spent a large part of her life on the Northwest Coast of BC with her husband Chief Kenneth Harris (1928-2010) and trained under Gitxsan Matriarch Irene Harris (1888-1972). She dedicated her life to the revitalization and teaching of Indigenous cultural practices, including song, dance, stories, and regalia making. Together, Elder Margaret Harris and Chief Harris founded the Dancers of Damelahamid in 1967.

“utilizing richly conceived projections, and a combination of offstage soundscapes and beautiful onstage vocals, the overall presentation was at once mesmerizing and haunting.” —Bateman Reviews

“Filled with joyful segments, interwoven with ritual tableaus and exquisite sequential dance elements” —Bateman Reviews

“a mesmerizing session of song and dance about reconnecting with ancestral Indigenous knowledge.” —Mooney on Theatre

“a visually striking performance that blends customary Indigenous dance forms with modern media. The overall effect is stunning.” —Istvan Reviews

“[The work] consciously captures the way they’re recovering and reinterpreting stories, dance, and song, and redefining themselves.” —Georgia Straight

Credits:

Created and Produced by Dancers of Damelahamid

Artistic Director and Choreographer Margaret Grenier

Set Designer and Artwork Andrew Grenier

Regalia Designer and Creator Rebecca Baker-Grenier

Song Composer and Vocalist Raven Grenier

Collaborating Composer Ted Hamilton

Lighting Designer Jeff Harrison

Projection Designer Andy Moro

Collaborating Director Charles Koroneho

Northwest Coast Artists

David A. Boxley

David R. Boxley

Jim Charlie

Raven Grenier

Kandi McGilton

Dylan Sanidad

Elders

Betsy Lomax 

Lawrence Trottier

Performers

Margaret Grenier

Rebecca Baker-Grenier

Raven Grenier

Nigel Baker-Grenier

Tobie Wick

Production/Stage Manager Andy Grenier

Technical Director Jeff Harrison

Collaborating Producer & Agent Sabine Rouques, Eponymous

World Premiere: October 9, 2024

The Cultch Theatre, Vancouver, Canada

Collaborator Biographies:

Margaret Grenier — Artistic Director, Choreographer, Performer

Margaret Grenier is the Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid and is the producer of the annual Coastal Dance Festival, established in 2008. Her choreographic works bridge Gitxsan and Cree dance forms with current expressions, contributing to a redefining of contemporary Indigenous dance.  Margaret holds a Masters of Arts in Arts Education at Simon Fraser University. She received her B.Sc. from McGill University with a Geography major and Environmental Science minor. She has extensive experience as a lecturer and presenter, leading workshops and master classes for dance training programs. She was a sessional instructor for Simon Fraser University (2007) and faculty at the Banff Centre (2013). Margaret presented at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in Peru (2011), Hawaii (2015) and Australia (2008 and 2023). She received the Reveal Award (2017) and the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts (2020). 

Andrew Grenier — Set Designer and Artwork, Production/Stage Manager

Andrew spent 20 years training with the company and has performed with the company since 2004. Andrew has worked with cedar and textiles, creating the sets for the Dancers of Damelahamid productions since 2004 and for the annual Coastal Dance Festival since 2008. Andrew oversees all the technical and set requirements for the Dancers of Damelahamid and is the Production Manager for the Coastal Dance Festival. Andrew has a BSc from McGill University and Masters in Environmental Education from Simon Fraser University.

Rebecca Baker-Grenier — Regalia Designer and Creator, Performer

Hawilkwalał, Rebecca, is of Kwakiuł, Musgamagw Dzawada’enuwx, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ancestry. She is a multidisciplinary artist with a BA from the University of British Columbia. Rebecca is the Artistic Associate for the Dancers of Damelahamid and the Festival Associate for the Coastal Dance Festival. Rebecca has been dancing with the company since 2014 and is a pow-wow dancer with over 20 years of experience. She is the Regalia Designer for the Dancers of Damelahamid’s productions Flicker (2016), Mînowin (2019), Spirit and Tradition Remount (2020), Raven Mother (2024). She began fashion design in 2021, apprenticing under Pam Baker and attended the Banff Centre for the Arts, Indigenous Couture Program 2022. She was the recipient of the YVR Art Foundation, Emerging Artist Award, 2021. Rebecca debuted her first collection at New York Fashion Week, 2022. Her most recent collection “we are warriors” debuted at SWAIA Fashion Show – Santa Fe Indian Market, August 2023, followed by Vancouver Fashion Week, Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week 2023, and Indigenous Fashion Arts Toronto, May 2024. Her work has been on exhibit at the Bill Reid Gallery, Museum of Vancouver, YVR Vancouver Airport, and featured in Vogue, Vogue Italia, and Elle Canada. Her piece “Held by Generations” will be at the American Museum for Natural History in New York, 2024-25.

Raven Grenier — Song Composer and Vocalist, Northwest Coast Artist, Performer

Raven was trained from a young age by her grandparents Elders Kenneth and Margaret Harris. She performed in the productions Setting the Path in 2004 and Sharing the Spirit in 2007 and toured with the company to New Zealand in 2008 and to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai,

China. She also performed in the productions Visitors Who Never Left (2009), Dancing our Stories (2010), Spirit Transforming in 2012 and 2015, and Flicker (2016). Raven is a dancer, singer and visual artist. Raven is an accomplished championship level dancer with the Nora Pickett Irish Dance Academy. Raven is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia.

Ted Hamilton — Collaborating Composer

Ted Hamilton is a Vancouver based musician, multidisciplinary composer and sound artist working in contemporary dance, theater, film/TV and performance art. His music and collaborative creations have been produced and performed in Canada and internationally for over two decades. Ted is also a songwriter, a musical theatre writer and has composed music for many ensembles including string trio, string orchestra, art song (voice and piano) and 50 voice SATB choir.

Jeff Harrison — Lighting Designer, Technical Director

Jeff is a four-time Jessie Award winning lighting designer for his work on Carousel Theatre’s Pharaoh Serket & the Lost Stone of Fire, Patrick Street Theatre’s Floyd Collins, Pi Theatre’s Blasted and Arts Club’s Hand to God. He is a graduate of SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, attended the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.

Andy Moro — Projection Designer

Andy Moro is the Artistic co-director of ARTICLE11 with Tara Beagan, upholding the 11th Article of the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Current and recent work includes: Rise Red River (ARTICLE 11 Theatre Cercle Moliere, PTE), The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time (Neptune/Tarragon/NAC), PISUWIN (Atlantic Ballet) NOMADA (Diana Lopez Soto), Extractionist, Gaslight, Sleuth (Vertigo) F WORD (Downstage,ATP) Ministry of Grace, Reckoning, ROOM, Declaration, Deer Woman (ARTICLE11), Little Women, Honour Beat (Theatre Calgary) Hookman (UofC/Chromatic) Post Mistress, Rez Sisters (RMTC), Unnatural & Accidental Women (NAC), Blackhorse (Caravan), The Herd (Citadel/Tarragon), Frozen River (MTYP), Third Colour, Spacegirl, War Being Waged (PTE), Ministry of Grace, Time Stands Still, O’Kosi (MT7), SkyDancers (Anowara Dance), Flicker, Minowin and Raven Mother (Dancers of Damelahamid), Finding Wolastoq Voice (TNB), Blood Water Earth, Blood Tides, The Mush Hole (Kahawi Dance Theatre). Film & Video: RECKONING (ARTICLE 11) Road to Hasalala Danxalax (Chan Ctr/Marion Newman) Upcoming: The Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold for Edmonton Opera. Andy is of mixed Euro/Omushkegowuk descent, and is currently based in Calgary.

Charles Koroneho — Collaborating Director

Charles Koroneho works in the fields of performance and culture. He explores cultural collaboration and the intersection between dance, theatre, visual arts and design. His projects are presented as performances, research workshops and arts collaborations exploring the collision between Maori cosmology, New Zealand society and global cultures. 

Koroneho is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance and Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. He shares his vision of dance and performance by providing movement, improvisation and creative workshops for dancers, actors and performance artists. He supports the arts community as a choreographer, collaborative director, cultural consultant and mentor.

David Albert Boxley — Northwest Coast Artist
David A. Boxley is a Tsimshian carver from Metlakatla, Alaska. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Seattle Pacific University. He is a nationally recognized Indigenous artist showing and demonstrating his art in many parts of the United States and Europe and is the first Alaskan Tsimshian to achieve national prominence. Boxley’s artworks are in the collections of the King and Queen of Sweden, the Emperor of Japan, the President of West Germany, the Mayor of Chongging (China), Microsoft, Walt Disney World, Knott’s Berry Farm and numerous other private collectors of fine Northwest Coast art. He is particularly well respected as a totem pole carver, having carved 85 poles in the last 45 years. He has taught and demonstrated at numerous established museums and institutes around the world, including the Smithsonian Institute, Museum of Natural History, Burke Museum, Heard Museum, Glasgow Arts Center, Museum of Civilization, Disney World, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and many more. Boxley is deeply involved in the rebirth of Tsimshian culture through organizing and hosting Potlatches in Alaska and Washington, and hosted the first Seattle Northwest Coast Potlatch in one hundred years in 1996. He was also responsible for reintroducing the potlatch back to his home village of Metlakatla, Alaska. David has been directly involved in the formation of four successful dance groups. He led the Tsimshian Haayuuk for 6 years, and now has a new group called the Git-Hoan. David has written over 40 songs in his Native language.

Jim Charlie — Northwest Coast Artist
Jim Charlie is a member of the Squamish Nation, whose territory stretches from North and West Vancouver to Whistler, BC. As the grandson of the late Dominique Charlie, an accomplished carver, Jim was educated in the histories and culture of the Salish peoples throughout his youth. He has been inspired by those traditions in his artwork. Charlie began carving in his adolescence and has been creating Northwest Coast art for over three decades almost exclusively with wood. Over the years, he has studied under Salish carvers Floyd Joseph and Jacob Lewis as well as the renowned Gitksan artist Phil Janze. Charlie’s work represents a variety of Northwest Coast legends and is notable for its broad and accessible style. He has exhibited pieces at the Seattle Art Fair and most recently completed a commission at the Vancouver International Airport.

Elder Betsy Lomax — Elder
Betsy Lomax is an Elder from the Gitxsan nation. She is fluent in the Gitxsan language and a master of its written orthography. She has worked closely with Dancers of Damelahamid on previous projects, aiding in the composition of songs and stories in the Gitxsan language. Betsy is also involved in the Gitxsan community both in her traditional territory as well as the urban center of Vancouver serving as a language teacher and knowledge carrier. Betsy has worked arduously to ensure that the Gitxsan language continues to flourish in generations to come.

Lawrence Trottier — Elder
Lawrence Trottier is Cree from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan and is a dancer, singer, and artist. Lawrence is a knowledge carrier and was raised traditionally by his grandparents. He is fluent in Cree, speaking it as his first language. He has been dancing pow-wow since he was a baby and has danced all styles, with a focus on grass dance. Lawrence is an accomplished dancer, winning numerous competitions at the largest pow-wows across North America, including placing at the International Hoop Dance Competition in Arizona, US. He has also traveled internationally to dance and has danced at the opening of the United Nations building in Austria. Lawrence is a singer and founded and travelled internationally with his champion drum group, Makaoo Singers. He has composed numerous songs sung by other drum groups across North America. In addition to being a dancer and singer, Lawrence has been trained in all areas of work in the pow-wow circle, including whip-man and arena director. He is the whip-man for one of the most notable pow-wows, San Manual Pow-wow at California State University in San Bernardino, California. Lawrence is also an artist, he has mastered the art of beading and is highly skilled in a wide range of Indigenous textile work and the creation of regalia and sacred belongings. Before dedicating his career solely to art and culture, Lawrence was an addictions counsellor and Elder for Corrections Canada in Saskatchewan.

Nigel Baker-Grenier — Performer

Nigel has been a lead dancer and singer for the company since Sharing the Spirit (2007), and has carried this role in Visitors Who Never Left (2009), Dancing Our Stories (2010), and Spirit and Tradition (2010). Nigel’s ability to bridge ancient and current knowledge and training has played a vital role in the creation of the main character for the contemporary dance works Spirit

Transforming 2012 and Flicker 2016. Nigel represented the Dancers of Damelahamid at the Australia Performing Arts Market Conference in 2016 and the World Indigenous People’s Conference on Education in 2017 and 2014. As a young storyteller, he placed first in the 2008 National Aboriginal Writing Challenge. Nigel has continued to pursue his interest in stories at university and holds a BA in the History Honours program from the University of British Columbia. He holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) at the University of British Columbia with focuses in Indigenous law and Environmental Law. Nigel was on the committee for the Nehiyo-paskwa-itsimowan Pow-wow from 2014-2017. He worked with Indigenous youth at the MOA Native Youth Program, Musqueam Youth Program, and CEDAR Summer Camp.