I was lucky enough to experience Waawaate Fobister’s Agokwe at the Cultch in Vancouver a few years ago. I had recently moved from Australia to Canada and had very little understanding of what it is like to grow up on a reservation, or about Two Spirit traditions and Anishinaabe culture. Agokwe is such a gift as a story, as it draws you into this world. I remember being entranced by the way Waawaate channels Nanabush, the Ojibwe trickster spirit. As a white fella (settler) from Australia I had never even heard of a trickster before, or for that matter experienced theatre that weaves together Indigenous storytelling traditions with contemporary performance. I was completely drawn into this magical world of spirits by Waawaate’s beautiful storytelling. They embody multiple characters in this moving, vulnerable and funny performance which tells a story that is based on their life experience, and is also universal in its portrayal of unrequited love and homophobia.

Indigenous artists are leading the way in a renaissance in Canada in terms of the understanding of Indigenous traditions, experience and living culture, and bravely demanding space to tell their stories. As Waawaate said about the show, “There’s no one else who is going to tell our stories the way we wanna tell them”. I think as audience members, it is an honour for us to be able to engage with these powerful stories and to listen and to grow. I can’t wait to see Agokwe again nearly ten years later at OUTstages’ 5th anniversary.