Observations from the Fringes. by Sonny Grant

The NAICA crew—Maria, Renee, Torry and myself—arrived in Toronto to attend the 8th annual imagine Native Film + Media Arts Festival. We arrived Thursday evening. Thus after checking in at our hotel we descended upon the streets of Toronto. However, after wandering about the euphoria of being in Toronto wore off. Shortly thereafter Torry and I capitulated to exhaustion and went back to the hotel. Maria and Renee—the troopers that they are—attended a performance at the Gladstone Hotel. I received some grief for not attending because one of the performers was my friend Laura Ortman. All I can say is that a throbbing bunion, gin and exhaustion do not make Sonny a happy boy! I could see the Toronto skyline from our eighteenth floor hotel room. The CN tower was the last thing I saw before falling sound asleep.
The following afternoon I made my way to the Al Green Theatre. I ran into my friends,We chatted for a bit and had lunch with former greasy Indian Blackhorse Lowe. Thereafter I raced to A Sister’s Love screening block. We should’ve arrived earlier because we missed The Valley and the beginning part of A Sister’s Love.
A Sister’s Love (Dir. Ivan Sen 2007) is the true story of the murder of actor/journalist Rhoda Roberts’ twin sister Lois. The film not only addresses Lois’s murder, but the discrimination Rhoda and Lois experienced because of their mixed heritage. Roberts’ deceased father—a prominent activist—fought a long battle to preserve land scared to aboriginal culture. Therefore the film is tempered by stunning shots of the Australian wilderness. The landscape setting is an active participant in the film as opposed to just being a backdrop. Tragically it is in the Australian wilderness where Lois’ body will be discovered.
Although Rhoda is undoubtedly the central subject in this film, one could not help but wonder why her twin sister–the catalyst for the story–was not fully articulated. Lois is instead delegated to the recesses of the narrative. Her murder is still unsolved. Hence Rhoda continues to look for clues that may help discover the identity of the person who murdered her sister. Inevitably this leads Rhoda to the spot where Lois was discovered-deep in the Australian wilderness. Certainly most people would be overwhelmed with grief. However there was something in Roberts’ demeanor that made me question her sincerity. She shuddered at every sound and uttered that she was spooked in spite of the presence of the film crew. Every move was exaggerated. I was expecting her to climb up a tree to wait for a helicopter to pluck her out of the wilderness. This was undoubtedly the climax of the film yet it left me flaccid. I preferred the quiet and eloquent exchange Rhoda had with her brother in an earlier scene. You couldn’t help but note the stunned countenance of her brother. That scene, in all its temperance, fully expounded the devastation of losing a loved one as opposed to Rhoda’s melodramatic performance in the woods. Alas this scene was incongruent to the overall mood of the film. Such a shame A Sister’s Love could’ve been an excellent film. Hey Rhoda stop acting and just be!
At the end of the credits I skedaddled down Bloor Street to sip on some wine and chomp on free food. I forgot the name of the place. But I do recall the décor, which was part Cosi/Ikea/Starbucks under the guise of sophisticated watering hole. The festival sponsored this event. Giving me the opportunity to rub shoulders with delegates, board members and beautiful free loaders like myself. At one point an imagineNative board member cornered me. I hate being put on the spot, “Yes…No…ah….um…what?” As soon as I saw Nanobah Becker I extracted myself from this situation and moved toward her. “Nanobah!” She turned and we had one of those, “I’m so busy but I still want to talk to you” type of exchanges.
“Blah…Blah…Kiss…Kiss…see you later!”

After the Navajo Spotlight the NAICA crew went to watch Miss Chief Eagle Testickle perform Séance at the Royal Ontario Museum. For those of you who don’t know Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is the alter ego of artist Kent Monkman. Picture a better-looking male version of Cher. Half Breed that’s all I’ve ever been! The bitch is late! Come on darling I don’t have all night. Poof…Miss Chief emerges from smoke…. shrouded in funerary black regalia. She is fabulous in all her splendor…this is the woman I want to be when I grow up! The audience goes ape-shit. Miss Chief soaks up the applause…Bitch! Séance is part performance/art survey course that brings to life ethnographic/genre painters such as Kane and Catlin known for their “vanishing race” prototypical Indian paintings. In his previous and current work Monkman recreates 18th and 19th century paintings depicting assumed notions of history. However the catch is that he subverts these scenes by planting Miss Chief Eagle Testickle within the composition. Thus revising the myth surrounding frontier life. Miss Chief stood before the crowd channeling the spirit of Delacroix. On an opposite wall an image of the artist appears along with a voice recording describing his work. Miss Chief offered stinging rebuttals to Delacroix’s racist remarks.

I appreciated Monkman’s attempt to debase the stereotypical paradigms of aboriginal representation. Moreover it has been noted, “these images were fabricated to conform to their own expectations and values.” Before my departure Miss Chief emerged once more, this time in labia pink regalia that required the assistance of two well sculpted white men. Alas I could not stay for I had another event to attend. I met Laura outside and together we zoomed away in a cab….to be continued!