'I'm just shocked by what I don't know': The Dream Catchers sparks dialogue around Indigenous issues

Combining hip hop, spoken word and folk, the musical The Dream Catchers opens on Wednesday at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.

The show will be performed by the TD Confederation Centre Young Company, made up of 26 performers from across Canada.

The musical is based off a play originally performed at the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton called The Dreams of the Children of Membertou.In keeping with the original inspiration, and Indigenous influences, the musical is debuting on National Aboriginal Day.

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Josh Graetz, a Young Company actor from Burns Lake, B.C., said working on the show gave him more insight into the struggles of Indigenous communities.

"I'm shocked by the information I didn't know," said Graetz.

"I mean I think I was somebody that came into this program thinking they were a liberal artist who knew it all and was open minded and was aware of the inequalities that happened in his own backyard and I think I'm just shocked by what I don't know."

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Morgyn-Lea Davies, from Navan, Ont., said working on the project was personal for her because of her own, somewhat hidden, heritage.

"I've only recently discovered my Metis heritage," said Davies.

"It was a secret. It was only recently in high school that I discovered it and I didn't have any connections in any communities so I never dove into it until recently."

Opening dialogue, overcoming shame

Randy Plain Eagle, from Brocket, Alta., said working on the project allowed him to overcome some of the shame he felt because of the way people like him were treated, both as a First Nations man, and a gay man.

"Coming into this experience really helped me reconcile with who I was and that it was OK to be a First Nations gay, two-spirited man," said Plain Eagle.

Plain Eagle said the musical has opened up dialogue.

"It has inspired not only me, but a lot of my colleagues. It has sparked dialogue and promoted awareness on certain issues that our country currently struggles with," said Plain Eagle.

Kiera-Dawn Kolson, from Yellowknife, said there needs to be more effort put into building a better nation to nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples.

"What we really need is, we need long term commitments beyond electoral terms. We need everybody who considers themselves and prides themselves on being Canadian to step-up and walk with us as equals because we're all human beings first and foremost," said Kolson.

The Dream Catchers opens on June 21 and will play Monday through Saturday at noon until August 21.

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