6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, September 23, 1987

Play tracks past t to an:
uncertain future |

oe

Ken N: Mowatt, Hazelton, 8.C.

2 duction that came to the R.E.M.
_ Lee Theatre recently, a Terrace
. audience saw a portrayal of the
-. twin issues. of native land claims
and self-government that

. Northwest that is at once prom.
7 ising and. disturbing.

by Michael Kelly

land claim case is certainly one
of the most politically and emo-
tionally charged issues in the
region’s history (orally-
transmitted history included),
and NO’ XYA’ (Our Footprints)
is an attempt to place the issues
in the (relatively) neutral and ac-
cessible medium of theater,

- The play opens with a young
woman from the far reaches of
tribal history, dressed in
~ ceremonial robes and headdress,
narrating the story of Gawa
Gyani, the Battleground Where
Peace Was Made. It-is apparent
this is a moveable battleground,
and a moveable peace, and that
the stage and gallery of the
theater are in fact a place “where
peace can begin.

. The vignettes of native history
that occupy the first portion of
the hour-long production pre-
sent a familiar picture of the In-
dians’ integrated relationship

|

Entertainment

‘Northern
Motor
Inn

“van unusual dramatic pro-"

_ created. a vision of a future.

Where it’s a

with the land and the creatures .
that inhabit.
scenes, part: song, part. dance:
and part dialogue, are filled with .
jolts of perspective that.
‘cumulatively -prepare the au-

dience for the portion of the

_ play set in contemporary times.

‘In one particularly effective

sequence,’ Sylvia-Anne George:
-. Speaking as the Skeena River

- The: celebrated Gitksan .
Wet? suwet’an. comprehensive.

salmon launches an angry
diatribe against a chief, played
by ‘Kispiox’ ‘native
Blackwater, for allowing a
massive boulder to be blasted
out of the river at Hagwiglet.
The contrast in values is clear
here, with the rock being viewed
as an obstruction to returning

fish by those who removed it, ©

and the manifest voice of the
salmon recalling it as the place in
the river where the fish assem-
bled to meet with and speak to
the fishermen.

In the modern portion of the ©

play the twentieth-century com-
posite white man is presented in
the form of Larry the Logger,
played by Vancouver actor Ed-
ward Astley with energy that is
astonishing in view of the
burden of stereotypes the
character has ‘to carry about.
There is some humorous relief in
the script, however, as in the
scene depicting Larry’s rather
spooky encounter with the

A guide to
Terrace's
night !lfe —
the “who
where and
when" for
entertainment.

Outstanding
Entertainment
nightly!

, These brief.

-Hal.

.. Salmon people, After a ranting

musical number in which the
hard-hatted, down-vested and
caulk-booted logger describes

. the virtues of: clear-cutting, the

lights go down and he is ap-
proached by swimming. creatures
who, over his oh-no-not-that ob-
jections, inform him that, yes,

. they are going to transform him
— into a tree. ‘‘Maybe in about.

150 years, Larry, you’ll under-
stand,’’ the narrator murmurs..

‘The confrontation between
the native and white lifestyles
takes place in Larry’s- kitchen,

and despite the Jaded sitcom .

devise of using a running: sym-

- pathy between the wives to
‘} underscore the stubborn refusal.

of understanding ‘between the
men, the dramatic core of the :

|. -play is. successfully revealed
_ here... [f-

the . Gitksan
Wet’suwet’an regain jurisdiction
of their tribal territories, what

- will follow for those who live in’
' the region? Will Larry-lose his

land? The answer.to that one is

no, but. the structure. of . the.
- society that would follow a court

- ruling in favor of the Indians is .
less clear and shown.as a consen-

sus of the people who live here
rather than a judicial decision or

a unilateral. fiat from the tribal .

‘council.

‘In. Headlines Theatre’s s ‘usual :

manner a discussion period with
the audience followed the cur-.

tain, with Marie Wilson of the |
Gitksan Wet’suwet’an. tribal.

council joining. the cast to
‘answer questions and __ hear

- remarks from the audience. The

inquiries generated by the play

’ were thoughtful and, as an in-.

continued on page 21

The Terrace Centennial Lions recently contributed $600. to the Performing o

Arts Shell Society. (PASS) for the construction of the Bandshell i in George

. Little Memorial Park. Left to right are Wayne ‘Robinson: and: Ralph :
Tralienberg from the Terrace Musicians Association, Centennial Lions

Vice President, Ray Trembley, and PASS President Jim Ryan.

Funds roll In for

bandshell _

“TERRACE — A weekend dance

at the Inn: of the West to raise,
money for the bandshell being
constructed in George Little
Memorial Park entertained a
crowd of about 175 people and
was a great success, according to
one organizer, Jim Ryan. -
‘“Tt was a really great

evening,” Ryan. said and.jadded -
that because of a ‘really positive

‘reaction’’ and many requests:for
another dance, there may be an-

other coming soon... « ~

Borderline provided most: of

the music for the evening, but

‘Wayne Sheridan and Nancy Le-
Strange teamed up to form a--
blues band, and Don Petipas’

and Ryan "himself did a few

numbers: to add variety to ) the
music.

‘Ryan said the dance: raised Lee
about $2,400 for the. project. |

and, when combined with the

original $3,700 donated by the. _
Terrace. Musicians Association,

$4,075 ‘from the sale of ‘‘Brick
Shares’’ and a $600 donation on

Monday from the Terrace Cen-
tennial Lions, a.good portion of.

the project was paid for.
He said the cement block

‘$16,000 to complete the roof..
Ryan explained that a “loan

continued on page 7

Arthritis society compaigns

“When you’re in pain, you
want to stay home by yourself,

try to get through the day, and |

hope that tomorrow will be a lit-
tle bit easier.’”
These are the words of ar-

thritis sufferer Euthel Dobson of -

Terrace, who recently talked
about the devastating and dis-

abling effects of arthritis, and-

how the Arthritis Society of

B.C. and the Yukon can ease the:

suffering. ;

Dobson. said she first con-
tracted arthritis when she was 20
years old and it soon caused dif-
ficult physical and psychological
changes.that she will have to live
with for the rest of her life. .

_ In the beginning I just no-

. ticed a little bit-of swelling in the

finger joints, but from there it
progressed to my other joints
and I had to take drugs and

physiotherapy for years,’? she -

explained. ;
She described the physiother-
apy treatment as hot wax, ice

and exercises that provide an

enormous relief to the pain.
“‘There’s a lot of pain in-

volved and limitation to the

joint movement. Anything that

- involves any pressure at all on

that joint can be very painful.

“In later years I’ve had the
joint disfigurement. Movement
is difficult, my wrists are more
or less frozen, and it makes even
opening a door difficult.”’

Dobson explained that
beyond the pain and completing
even the most simple of tasks,
psychological barriers were also
formed.

For her, public reaction was a

big part of the difficulty in deal-

ing with arthritis. Just “looking.

nice’’ was a-problem.

**T can’t dress up, it’s very dif-
ficult to wear a dress so I have to
wear slacks all the time. Also,
the type of shoes that are pre-
scribed are not dress shoes and
you can’t get into a dress shoe
anymore.

_ “Also I feel self-conscious
when I go out. When I go to the
store shopping I can see eyes
drawn to my hands, and if I
wear the splints, which I have to
sometimes if I know I’m going
to be lifting groceries or I’m in
pain, it draws even more atten-
tion — but they feel good.”

The splints Dobson was
describing were supplied by the
Arthritis Society and. include
‘working splints’? which. offer
support, immobility, and pro-
tection. ‘If I do too much clean-
ing and scrubbing, then at night
have to wear ‘resting splints’
which keep the wrists immobile
and in the morning’ they have
had rest. They’re uncomfort-
able, especially if you have to
wear both of them, but they
help,’’? Dobson said.

Other aids given to Dobson by’

the society include a door knob

lever and special key chain,
Dobson also said that arthritis

can place a great burden on the

family. ‘‘The patient is unable to -

do things for themselves and it
puts a heavy load on the
family,’’ she explained.

Arthritis Society volunteers
are carrying out a door-to-door
fund raising campaign. this
week, and generous donations
make life more bearable for suf-
ferers like Dobson. |

“Nearly four -million Cana-

'dians — men, women and chil- .

dren — suffer the pain of ar-

thritis. That means one in seven

people, or one in three families,
are touched by the disease. The
society says a cure must be
found and,‘‘you can help. You
make all our programs and ser-
vices possible through your con-
tribution of time and money.
Your dollars make the dif-
ference in what we can ac-
complish.’’ ,

To find out how you can help, -

Or receive assistance, phone the
Terrace branch vice-president,
Edna Fisher, at 635-2577.
Dobson said, “‘If you need
things, you have to rely on

friends or neighbors to go out .

for you, but through the years
I’ve had good friends who have
always helped me.’ -

Ask her to describe her life
without the Arthritis Society,

and Dobson would say, ‘I don’t

even want to imagine it. It would
be horrible just trying to cope
with everyday living.

“People don’t have to suffer
the terrible pain that goes along

with arthritis, there are. things -

that will help to make life
easier,’’ she concluded.

In Court

In Terrace provincial court on
Monday, August 31 Boyd
Moore was sentenced to 14
months in jail and three years’
probation for break and entry. .

walls can now be erected, and |
the Musicians Association has ©
‘requested an additional loan of