Jordan River Anderson’s legacy honoured
Jordan, played by Dylan Thomas-Bouchier, is guided by Maskwa, a giant teddy bear played by Todd Houseman, throughout the story, flying through the skies with him as they witness hardships faced by First Nations families. Courtesy Emelia Hellman
In the eyes of director Jimmy Blais, Jordan River Anderson is a hero. For the youth that turned out to see his play Jordan at Centaur Theatre in Montreal, that’s exactly how they saw him too.
For two weeks, elementary and high school students got the chance to learn about the impact the young boy had on First Nations families across the country. In Blais and writer Yvette Nolan’s play, Jordan is a superhero, capable of flying to children in need of support.
“This is an important story for non-Indigenous Canadians to know about, but it’s as important for Indigenous people to know about as well, because I’ve met a lot of folks who have used Jordan’s Principle, but have not heard Jordan’s story,” said Blais, who hails from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.
The program administered by the federal government to provide funding for First Nation families in need of mental health support, special education, dentists, physical therapy, and medical equipment, among other services, would not exist today were it not for Jordan.
Jordan was five years old when he passed away at a Manitoba hospital in 2005 after being barred from returning to his home of Norway House Cree Nation, because the federal and provincial government couldn’t agree on who should fund his at-home care. Jordan’s Principle was created to prevent situations like his, with the government-led agency of first contact now responsible for paying service costs upfront.
Jordan, played by Dylan Thomas-Bouchier, is guided by Maskwa, a giant teddy bear played by Todd Houseman, throughout the story, soaring through the skies with him as they witness the hardships families had to go through prior to the program being created.
“How do you keep them entertained? One easy way is by putting a bear on stage,” Blais said. “Humour is medicine and laughter is medicine.”
Kahnawa’kehró:non Brianna Montour was part of the production crew, contributing toward lighting design. She said it was a privilege to take part in creating such a meaningful show.
“There’s not a ton of Indigenous theatre that happens in the area, so it’s really cool,” said Montour, who contributed her talents through an internship under the National Theatre School in Montreal. “Hopefully that’s shifting, hopefully there’s going to be more of us telling our stories.”
She also put in a word to get local artist Russell Delaronde’s artwork displayed in the theatre’s lobby through the play’s run. He lent four pieces, including a hand-carved, hand-painted cradle board, as well as a painting where a heron takes centre stage.
“It felt cool, it was a really cool experience,” said Delaronde, who showed up for the opening night.
Blais said he was inspired to pitch the production to Geordie Theatre, which produced the show, after watching Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger.
“I saw it over the pandemic, and at the very tail end of the documentary, there’s a line that says, ‘Jordan, you are our hero,’ and I thought that the story needed to be told,” said Blais, also the artistic director at Geordie.
The play pulls inspiration from real families who shared their stories with the documentary filmmaker. The character Vee, whose son Simon isn’t able to get to school because his bus isn’t wheelchair accessible, is based on the story of Carolyn Buffalo, a mother who shares her testimony in the documentary.
Jordan and Maskwa also get to interact with Cindy Blackstock, the child welfare reform advocate who has been instrumental in the application of Jordan’s Principle, who is played by Krystle Pederson.
“The kids really loved it. I was able to be a part of a couple matinee shows where schools came to see the show. The reaction has kind of been consistently lovely,” Blais said.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous students alike got to attend those matinees. Two classes from Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) also got to experience the show together, two days before its opening night on April 4.
Teacher Heather White-McGregor came back to see the show a second time with her family, showing up with a collection of handwritten cards written by her students to give to the director.
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“The gift was a pack of responses from her ninth and 10th grade students sharing how they felt about the story,” Blais said. “They talked a lot in class about it, and her students shared with her how Jordan’s Principle has impacted their lives, and they really enjoyed the fact that it was about mental health as well. They told her that gaining access to mental health therapists was more important to them than things like dentists.”
