Good vibrations

The weekend saw the community unite in the studios of K1037 and – niá:wen to the magic of radio – in the kitchens, living rooms, and cars of Kahnawake.

The radiothon, which raised well over half a million dollars in a single weekend, was just the latest reminder that this is a community that unites when it counts for important causes of all kinds. And this was a special one, to benefit the Kahnawake Cultural Arts Center.

What could be more fitting?

After all, as the project is now aptly (and officially) named, this is Kanatahkwèn:ke - meaning “Our Village” - and as cynical as things can get sometimes, pretty well everyone recognizes that a proud home for arts and culture is something kanatahkwèn:ke needs.

That’s for many reasons, not least the necessity to build on the community’s amazing successes in strengthening Kanien’kéha by giving the language a home worthy of its significance.

First, let’s take note of the level of sheer talent boasted by this community. This town is home to scores of gifted singers, dancers, musicians, painters, sculptors - the list goes on. Why? Well, the community’s support plays a huge role.

Just a couple weeks ago, some of the youngest Kahnawa’kehró:non out there earned themselves a standing ovation playing to a 2,100-seat house, La Maison Symphonique, in Tiohtià:ke’s Place des Arts, about the pinnacle the big city next door has to offer, thanks to a helping hand from fellow Kahnawake community members.

Where do they hope to play next? The Kahnawake Cultural Arts Center, of course, a venue that is for and by the community.

Not all of the 12 children who performed an excerpt of Beethoven’s Ninth will grow up into professional orchestral musicians, but some might, and it’s because of local support, not just friends and family, but other folks who just want to see the next generation flourish. Even the students who may not even continue to play music will know what it’s like to come up against a nerve-wracking moment, face it head on, and earn the immense satisfaction that can only come from doing something difficult.

We all know Kahnawake is a great sports town, but it’s a great arts town, too. Heavy hitters and up-and-comers make headlines every week with projects, awards, appearances.

There’s still time to see Stone and Bone Spectacular at Centaur Theatre in Tiohtià:ke. The production, which runs until Sunday, sprung from the theatre’s first Indigenous Artist Residency, which saw Ange Loft write and direct the production in collaboration with Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo and Iehente Foote.

Imagine seeing something like it here on the territory, with curious folks from outside making their way here instead? That’s the future coming to Kahnawake.

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs has made the community proud countless times, but she has also made her mark by participating in the Cultural Arts Center’s Capital Campaign.

She famously got her start at Turtle Island Theatre, a key partner in the new building. How many others got their start there, if not leading them to acting or theatre production, then training them to find their voice, to take space, to work hard on something and see it through to its completion, even in other fields?

Artists from Kahnawake are taking space here, there, and everywhere. They are constantly showcased in exhibitions in the city and across the country - usually by invitation, but not always.

Recently, Skawennati was featured in a guerilla exhibit using the power of technology to take space in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the greatest symbols of fine arts in the world, which sent a powerful message about the place of Onkwehón:we on Turtle Island.

Here in Kahnawake, the important Iontkahthóhtha art show hosted by Kanien’keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (KOR) was held at the Legion. Next time around, it will be at the Cultural Arts Center, bringing in bigger crowds to see what dozens of talented local artists have to offer.

Of course, the jewel of the jewel that is Kanatahkwèn:ke will be the museum. While some cultural institutions in the city have made big strides in facilitating repatriation/rematriation and featuring Indigenous narratives, there is no substitute for Kahnawa’kehró:non taking the reins and telling their own story, contextualizing artifacts that belong to Kahnawake in every sense of the word - except, too often, for not being in the community’s possession.

The involvement of Kahnawake Tourism in the new building is no coincidence. It’s the era of reconciliation, and while this sometimes just feels like an invitation for empty words or gestures, it also means it’s a prime opportunity for Kahnawake to take a stand for its sovereignty, over territory, yes, and governance, of course, but also over its own story, which has for hundreds of years been drowned out by colonialists who think they know better just because they came in ruthless droves.

That, and so much more, is what the Cultural Arts Center means to Kahnawake. So for the community to show up for the radiothon, one of the most Kahnawake ways to raise money, on its own beloved airwaves?

Success was never in doubt, but it never ceases to amaze us how much sheer energy and love underlies the breadth of support for strengthening cultural knowledge and especially for the community’s youth, no matter their interests.

A generation growing up unafraid to confront the challenges that pave the way to success - whether in sports, arts, language, or just in raising a happy family where love and support can be taken for granted - is a generation that makes things better for the generation that comes after that.

So, kudos to everyone involved in making the Kahnawake Cultural Arts Center a reality, from donors, to Capital Campaign members, to the many local contractors and labourers on the project, to community leaders of all kinds.

While fundraising has been going on for years, now it’s the turn of everyday community members to invest, even a couple of bucks, if they can afford it, and that’s what the radiothon was all about.

But the reality is, a couple bucks or not, this building already belongs to all Kahnawa’kehró:non, because everyone has a stake in the vision of a future that belongs to Kahnawake.

After all, this is Kanatahkwèn:ke.

TED Staff