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Collective creativity
Visiting cultural groups hopes to inspire cultural identity and creativityCharlotte Hilling Northern News Services Published Thursday, October 15, 2009
The group was invited by Dianne Lafferty, aboriginal language and culture coordinator for Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS), as a way to help promote aboriginal culture. "The Tribe of One offers, through the arts, a way for youth to connect with their identity and the larger Canadian aboriginal community," she said. She said kids from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds were able to benefit from the experience. "They were able to relate what they learned about aboriginal culture to their own culture, and they were very excited about that," she said. Tribe of One, established back in 1998, currently has four members, all from different ethnic, cultural, and artistic backgrounds. Their performances encompass a wide array of artistic disciplines including musical performance, painting, performance art, hoop dancing, and playing the didgeridoo – a popular Australian instrument. Front man for the group, Rik Leaf, said they hope to inspire creativity in both children and adults through their workshops, while fostering a sense of cooperation. "We put together the performance workshop that lets the kids see all of these art forms working together at the same time," he said. "The tribe idea was about community and that we were sharing one performance and coming together for one experience." Over the last week the group has put on performance workshops at St. Patrick High School, St. Joseph School, Weledeh Catholic School and St. Joseph Middle School. The kids were given the opportunity to attend three different workshops, from music, to dance, to art. Group member, Marie-Josee Dandeneau, said they are in a unique position to inspire the kids into creative ventures. "There are music teachers, and that's what they teach. But, to the kids, we look cool doing it... We're able to work with the teachers to achieve success," she said. In the music workshop the kids were taught how to write a song with many of the students contributing lyrics for a song they wrote in 45 minutes. Student Kent Alacida, who plays the trumpet, also likes to sing and said he found the lesson on how to write a song helpful. "You just make up a story, and write a song," he said. Following their stay in Yellowknife, Tribe of One will be repeating their workshops for schools in the South Slave Region.
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