Sakehi'towin Onipowak

Description:

Âhasiw Maskêgon-Iskwêw’s performance Sakehi'towin Onipowak explored cycles of birth and death through text that was spoken and sung. 

The work opened with a bilingual reading in Cree and English by Maskêgon-Iskwêw and a collaborator, who punctuated the text with vocalizations, singing, and drumming. Maskêgon-Iskwêw then covered an embalmed human-like form with medicines and fur and suspended it from chains, as excerpts from the video Hung—showing Maskêgon-Iskwêw bound and hanging from a tree—were projected behind. As the house lights rose to fully reveal the suspended form, the performance shifted, and Maskêgon-Iskwêw led the audience in a communal bingo game at long tables. The work concluded with a final reading by his collaborator.

Video documentation is available upon request.