Grounded in a 2S Michif/ nêhiyaw tâpisinowin (Métis/Cree worldview), piyêsiwak wâhkôhtowin draws inspiration from 2S Cree Elder Mary Wilson’s telling of thunderbirds’ ascent into skyworld, and the gift they left behind. As a 2S creator, music acts as a resurgent practice for reclaiming ancestral languages and refusing continual acts of erasure that so many Métis relatives fought to survive. This nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree language) song serves as a device for opening up doorways or “dream portals” to connect to trans*temporal and trans*dimensional kinships (Pyle, 2018). Specifically, the deep listening activated in the layered soundscapes, manipulated recordings of water bodies, and têwêhikan (drum) highlights vital kinships with piyêsiwak (thunderbirds). This hybrid experience links storytelling, dreams + listening while taking participants on a journey through altered realms and recentring 2S creative continuance as sites of vibrant futurity.

This event is an online workshop, hosted via Zoom. To attend, please log into your TQFF account and return to this page when the event is live. The Zoom link will be available for TQFF Website Registrants. No other registration is required.