Raven Mother: Dancers of Damelahamid

Raven Mother is the Dancers of Damelahamid’s (Gitxsan & Cree, Vancouver) 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.

Previous Work

“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

Composers of the song Strong Woman

Derrick Keeswood 

Verrona Keeswood 

Lawrence Trottier

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

Wardrobe Assistant Stevie Hale-Jones

Collaborating Producer & Agent Eponymous

World Premiere: October 9, 2024

The Cultch Theatre, Vancouver, Canada

Collaborator Biographies:

Margaret Grenier — Artistic Director, Choreographer, Performer

Margaret Grenier is of Gitxsan and Cree ancestry. She is the Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid. She has produced the Coastal Dance Festival since 2008. Margaret’s multimedia choreographic works bridge Gitxsan and Cree dance forms with current expressions.  Her works have toured internationally and include Setting the Path (2004) and Spirit and Tradition (2007), and Visitors Who Never Left (2009), Luu hlotitxw (2012), Flicker (2016), and Mînowin (2019). Mînowin premiered at the Mòshkamo Festival, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (2019) and at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico. Margaret holds a M.A. from Simon Fraser University and a B.Sc. from McGill University. She was a sessional instructor for Simon Fraser (2007) and faculty at the Banff Centre (2013). She received the REVEAL Award (2017), the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts (2020), DSA Distinction in Dance Award (2022), and the Isadora Award (2024).

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

Andrew is the Creative Producer for the Dancers of Damelahamid and Production Manager for the Coastal Dance Festival. Andrew creates the sets for the Dancers of Damelahamid, makes props, and carves masks for the family. Andrew has trained under the guidance of Ken and Margaret Harris and Tsimshian Artist David A. Boxley. Andrew, a former high School teacher for 20 years, has a BSc from McGill University and Masters in Environmental Education from Simon Fraser University. Andrew is of mixed Polish and French-Canadian ancestry.

Rebecca Baker-Grenier — Regalia Designer and Creator, Performer

Hawilkwalał, Rebecca, is of Kwakiuł, Dzawada’enuwx, and Sḵwx̱̱wú7mesh 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 company’s productions Flicker (2016), Mînowin (2019), Spirit and Tradition Remount (2020), and Raven Mother (2024). She began fashion design in 2021, debuting at New York Fashion Week (2022) followed by SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, Vancouver Fashion Week, Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, and Indigenous Fashion Arts Toronto. Her work has been on exhibit at the American Museum for Natural History in New York, the Bill Reid Gallery, Museum of Vancouver, YVR Airport, and featured in Vogue and Elle Canada. She was the recipient of the YVR Emerging Artist Award, 2021. 

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

Raven is an emerging choreographer, Indigenous contemporary dance artist, singer, and visual artist in formline design. She is a 4th year Indigenous Studies student at UBC and the Artistic and Administrative Assistant for Dancers of Damelahamid. Her silk screened limited edition prints are available at Lattimer gallery and Coastal Peoples Gallery in Vancouver. Raven’s work is also available at MOA Gift shop, and has been on display at her exhibition at the Dance Centre where her up-cycled mini collection was featured. Her films Spanochnonga and Lax Yip were commissioned by FORM and have been screened at FORM 2022 and 2023, Matriarchs Uprising 2024, Weesageechak 2023, live at Vines 2023, New Works 2023, and more. Her current project Wolverine is an in-the-works EP, music video, and choreographed performance supported by the Raven Spirit Dance Pakitinam mentorship program. The short experimental film was supported by Co Erasga and premiered at What Lab salon studio spring series.

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.

David Robert Boxley — Northwest Coast Artist

David R. Boxley is an esteemed Tsimshian artist from Metlakatla, Alaska. David Robert is the eldest son of the renowned carver David Albert Boxley. David Robert began carving under the instruction of his father at six years old, and around this same time he also began to travel around the United States to assist his father in raising totem poles and teaching people about Tsimshian culture.

As an adult, he has continued to express the love and respect he has for Tsimshian culture through his art, cultural performance and teaching. David Robert’s elegant design style is drawn from a strong tradition of Tsimshian carving and design, and has been heavily influenced by the teachings of his father and the old masters. From 2009-2011, David Robert carved alongside Haida artist Robert Davidson, and with his guidance, David Robert has honed his craft to compare with the very best in Northwest Coast art.

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.

Kandi McGilton — Northwest Coast Artist

Mangyepsa Gyipaayg, whose English name is Kandi McGilton, is a Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) artist from Metlakatla, Alaska. Her work focuses primarily on beaded devilfish bags and Annette Island cedar bark weaving, and has included ancient designs of these traditional artforms in her work with Eighth Generation.

A self-taught beader, Kandi’s award-winning devilfish bags, which are traditional pieces of regalia, are known for their elegant aesthetic, tasteful color combinations, and creative use of space.

The endangered and unique Annette Island basketry style, preserved and taught to her by renowned Haida weaver Iilskyalas—Dr. Delores Churchill—features an intricate and visually-striking element called “false embroidery.” She also apprenticed with Haida weaver Holly Churchill and teaches Annette Island weaving when possible.

Dylan Thomas — Northwest Coast Artist

Seattle Native Dylan Sanidad is an indigenous artist with roots from Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Filipino culture. Being a part of dance group Git-Hoan “People of the Salmon” inspired Dylan to begin his journey of representing his cultural stories through traditional indigenous art. Dylan envisioned the creation of his designs to showcase his pride and representation of his indigenous culture. Traditional masks, rattles, paddles, bowls, and trays are some of the favorites he enjoys creating. His art continues the path of cultural revitalization and resilience of indigenous history.

Dylan shows his passion and love for the art with the energy he puts into all of his pieces. He enjoys following the traditional concepts of the art while also putting his own personal touch to the art. He enjoys telling stories through art and hopes to reach a new audience that isn’t familiar with the northwest coast art. “I enjoy showing this art because it shows my people are still here and surviving in the modern world.”

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 is of Gitksan and Cree ancestry. He has been a dancer and singer for Dancers of Damelahamid for all of its productions since Sharing the Spirit (2007). He created his first solo piece, Talking Past Each Other, in 2018. Nigel is also a lawyer at White Raven Law. His legal practice focuses on supporting Indigenous governments in asserting their Aboriginal rights and title, as well as navigating environmental, administrative, and natural resources law. Nigel holds a Bachelor of Arts in the History Honours program at the University of British Columbia and a Juris Doctor from the Peter A. Allard School of Law. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, where he taught at the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic for several years. Nigel has also researched and published on Gitksan and Cree Indigenous legal orders. He is currently engaged in a three-year Cree language mentorship, funded by First People’s Cultural Council.  

Tobie Wick — Performer

Tobie Wick is of Gitxsan and Cree Ancestry. She has been immersed in traditional training all her life. Tobie was the Arts Administrative Assistant, lead dancer and choreographer for the Dancers of Damelahamid from 2004-2012 before moving to Prince Rupert, BC. During this time she played a key role in management, the artistic creation of all productions and aided in the production of the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival. In 2010 Tobie assisted in the creative development of Spirit Transforming, an integral part of the company’s shift in their identity. Since 2010 she has toured Spirit and Tradition, Spirit Transforming, Flicker and Mînowin.

Although Tobie is no longer living in Vancouver she still maintains a strong involvement in her culture through her work with the company.

Stevie Hale-Jones — Wardrobe Assistant

Originally from Yorkshire, England, Stevie began her theatre career in 2004. She studied theatre at Wimbledon College of Arts and worked in the wig and costume departments of some of the top theatres in London and across the UK before making the move to Canada in 2013. Since moving to Vancouver she has worked for Bard on the Beach, Arts Club, Vancouver Opera and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and on various productions for the film industry, including A Series of Unfortunate Events and most recently Snowpiercer. Stevie is also an illustrator and has created work for children’s books, storyboards and graphic novels.