(Angie Rolheiser/northeastNOW staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Cultural Awakenings

Black and Rural Saskatchewan comes to Melfort

Jun 27, 2022 | 3:22 PM

This past week, Heritage Saskatchewan made a stop in Melfort at the Kerry Vickar Centre (KVC) with their Black and Rural Saskatchewan presentation, A Window into an Overlooked Segment of Prairie Life.

British Columbia-based artist and folklorist, Shayna Jones was one of the main presenters as she looked to elevate the voices of rural-dwelling African Canadians.

Cultural Coordinator for the City of Melfort, Gailmarie Anderson said Jones did an excellent job in her presentation.

“She interprets stories of Black people living in Saskatchewan, their stories of pride and struggle, their stories of triumph from African descent. Black Canadians who call Saskatchewan their homes…it was just a way of informing people about the stories of these African descent Canadians so that they would understand better that they came from a different culture, but they’re now part of our culture and they have to be integrated and we all have to be together.”

Anderson also explained how this will be the first of many events like this in the northeast and that we have to be more informed on the diversity we possess.

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“I think that we always have to be aware that we do have minorities, we have to be aware that we need to build relationships so that we’re integrated into one culture. We’re all Canadian, in the end, but we do have to allow them to tell their story as well.”

“Going forward, we’re going to have events, such as Culture Days, which is just a multicultural event where different cultures can explain, display and talk about their stories about their culture,” she said.

Anderson also mentioned what she believed should be the takeaway from events, like Black and Rural Saskatchewan.

“We’re all the same, everybody has their story. There are lots of people here who have a very different story from others, but they’re not a visible minority. So, we just have to be aware that every single person has their own story to tell and we have to be tolerant and accepting of everybody’s story and work together to create a friendly and open-minded and forward-thinking community.”

Early in her collaboration, Jones conducted a series of interviews to understand the Saskatchewan “Black and rural” experience. She spoke with a range of individuals, including descendants of the first African Canadian settlers in Saskatchewan, who shared passed-down stories as well as their own personal accounts.

She also spoke with recent immigrants who imparted their struggles and triumphs living as a dark-skinned person in rural Saskatchewan. Inspired by these stories, Jones created this performance that interprets the words shared with her over the course of her conversations.

When asked about the purpose behind this living heritage project, Jones replied in a press release sent to northeastNOW.

“Black and Rural Saskatchewan is a window into a readily overlooked segment of not only prairie life but Black Canadian life in general. To choose to live outside of the urban maze as a Black individual is to live outside of the narrow bandwidth afforded to us by mainstream culture. The aim of this project is to honour these hidden rural Black voices and to challenge the monolith of what matters to Black lives.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8