About the Indigenous Advisory Circle
The Indigenous Advisory Circle was formed at the National Theatre School (NTS) in the spring of 2021. It is composed of a diverse group of established Indigenous artists and NTS alumni. Their goal is to influence and strengthen the School’s pedagogy by contributing an Indigenous worldview, and to create opportunities for the French and English sections to come together through Indigenous artistic practice.
The Circle’s members are involved in helping to create inclusive policies, recommendations for governance, developing community for students with Indigenous ancestry and bringing awareness and education to the administration and faculty at NTS. In this way, they hope not only to bring about a deeper awareness and appreciation of the rich artistic landscape of Indigenous performing arts, but also to help students deepen their understanding of themselves as artists.
Report and Action Plan
In September 2022, the Circle released its Report on Indigenous Presence and Influence at the National Theatre School. The Circle created this report to review all educational relationships between Indigenous people and NTS. Indigenous students, faculty and Indigenous Artists in Residence were interviewed about their relationship to the School. This project relates directly to the “Seven Generations” teachings, which specify that Nations and individuals must think of the seven generations before them and the seven generations after them in their conduct. This honours those who have gone before and, as we work to Indigenize spaces, ensures the survival of future generations.
NTS_Indigenous_Presence_Report.pdf
Read the Report.
Additionally, the School’s Executive Committee, in collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Circle, has developed an Action Plan for building a strong and healthy relationship between NTS and the Indigenous community.
Plan d’action
Read the Action Plan.
The Circle's Activities
On February 4, 2023, four veteran Indigenous directors and theatre makers met to talk about their work, their process and why Indigenous theatre work is helping to change the way we create theatre and dance. Moderated by Charles Bender, the panel includes Michelle Thrush, Jimmy Blais, Lara Kramer and Vivi Sørensen.
In 2021, the Circle established an annual tradition of beginning each school year with a welcoming ceremony (or Ohèn:ton Karihwatéhkwen, meaning “thanksgiving address”) led by an elder from the Kanien’kehá:ka nation, who are recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. The purpose is to welcome the entire student body in both the French and English sections. This is a bringing together, a gathering of community, as well as an opportunity to better appreciate the history of the area.
In February 2022, the Circle organized a panel on the inclusion of Indigenous traditional knowledge in artistic practice. As we work towards establishing respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, we must encourage dialogue and purposeful consideration around the creation of work that reflects Indigenous pedagogies and worldviews. The discussion was moderated by Floydd Ricketts, with speakers Asa Benally, Violet Ford, Dave Jenniss and Marion Newman.
Throughout the year, the Circle organizes a number of workshops with contemporary Indigenous artists, in order to share Indigenous artistic practices with NTS students and provided a well-rounded artistic education. Upcoming workshops:
Nov 24-26, 2022 – Richard Scott Moore is from the Yuin Nation in Australia. He carries the traditional songs that have been passed down through his bloodline for thousands of years. He has toured the world sharing songs, stories and danced to all students no matter what their background.
March 2023 – Yvonne Chartrand will be teaching a traditional Métis jig workshop. Yvonne is a contemporary choreographer and dancer as well as a national and award-winning master Métis jigger. Her ancestors come from the Métis community of St. Laurent, Manitoba. Her company V’ni Dansi creates original dance works.
Panel presented on January 27th with the participation of Émilie Monnet, Naleraq Eugenius, Julie Christina Picher, Étienne Thibeault and Jeff Chief.
Étienne Thibeault
Étienne is an actor, musician and sound designer who completed his professional training in theatrical performance in 2014 at the École de théâtre professionnel du Collège Lionel-Groulx. Since then, he has participated in several theatrical productions as an actor as well as a sound designer. He was recently seen at Salle Fred-Barry in Alterindiens (director: Xavier Huard) and as musician and sound designer at Théâtre Duceppe in Manikanetish (director: Jean-Simon Traversy). Étienne has also been teaching sound design at the National Theatre School since 2024.
Photo Credit: Fanny Migneault-Lecavalier
Dave Jenniss
For over 20 years, Dave Jenniss has played a major role in promoting Indigenous cultures through theatre as a playwright, actor, screenwriter, and director. Since 2017, he has also served as the Artistic Director of Ondinnok productions. His work with Ondinnok—the first French-language Indigenous theatre company in Canada—as well as his many creations that weave together Indigenous stories and traditions, make him an influential and respected artist.
Through his Wolastoqey identity, Jenniss creates a universe that is uniquely his own, blending ritual, dreamlike imagery, and reality. His writing, directing, and actor coaching, marked by authenticity, have earned him significant recognition within the artistic community. His plays explore themes of identity, cultural transmission, and Indigenous spirituality.
His impact can be seen in landmark works such as Wulustek (2008, 2011), Le tambour du temps (2012), Mokatek et l’étoile perdue (2018), Kthakomiq (2018), Toqaq mecimi puwiht / Delphine rêve toujours, Nmithaqs Sqotewamqol / La cendre de ses os (2022), and, in co-writing, Tupqan / nos territoires intérieurs (2025).
Photo Credit: Maxime Côté
Geneviève Pelletier
Geneviève Pelletier is a Métis creator and theatre director from the Red River in Winnipeg, on the ancestral lands of Treaty No. 1. From 2012 to 2025, she led with passion and vision the artistic and general direction of Théâtre Cercle Molière, the oldest French-language theatre company in Canada, which will be celebrating its centennial in 2025. Under her leadership, the theatre not only strengthened its commitment to cultural diversity, but also emphasized ecology, audience renewal, and theatrical creation rooted in the land.
Geneviève also held the prestigious position of Co-President of the International Commission of Francophone Theatre from 2019 to 2023, during which she helped shape the future of Francophone theatre on the international stage. Her talent and expertise have led her to direct some twenty acclaimed productions in Canada and abroad, notably in Morocco, Guinea, and France. In 2023, she had the honour of presiding over the jury for the “Storytelling” category at the Jeux de la Francophonie in Kinshasa, further affirming her role as a leader in the theatre community.
For several years now, Geneviève has been developing an approach deeply inspired by the principles of reconciliation and Indigenous values, seeking to create theatre that resonates with the stories and voices of marginalized communities. She is particularly interested in cultural intersections, which she explores with both sensitivity and boldness, revealing the many possibilities that emerge in an increasingly interconnected world. This innovative approach gives rise to creative spaces that are both fertile and complex, where cultures meet and transform, offering audiences theatrical experiences that are rich and profoundly human.
Soleil Launière
A member of the Innu nation from Mashteuiatsh on the banks of the Pekuakami (Lac Saint-Jean), Soleil Launière (Indigenous Artist in Residence, 2020) lives and works in Tiöhtià:ke (Montreal). She has contributed to many productions as a multidisciplinary artist working with song, movement and theatre as well as the performing arts more generally. Her work brings together two-spirit bodily presence and audiovisual experimentation while drawing from Innu cosmogony and the sacred spirit of animals. She also explores the themes of silence and language while pushing the boundaries of both Indigenous and universal action art.
Émilie Monnet
At the intersection of theatre, performance and sound art, Émilie Monnet’s (Indigenous Artist in Residence, 2022) art practice is founded on collaborative processes of creation and are typically presented as interdisciplinary theatre or immersive performance experiences. She was the artist-in-residence at Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui in Montreal (2018-2021) and is the artist-in-residence at Théâtre Espace Go (2021-2024). Recently her work was programmed at Festival TransAmériques (2019) and the National Arts Centre (2020) and she often works with artists in South America. In 2016, she founded Indigenous Contemporary Scene (ICS), a nomadic platform for the presentation of live arts by and creative exchanges for Indigenous artists. ICS’s most recent edition was presented in Edinburgh in August 2019. Both Anishnaabe/Algonquin and French, raised between the Outaouais, Quebec and Britany, France, she is now living in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyaang / Montreal, and is the artistic director of Onishka Productions.
Sylvia Cloutier
Sylvia Cloutier (Indigenous Artist in Residence, 2020) is from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik (Northern Quebec) a mother, performing artist, producer, director, well known for performing Inuit throat singing and drum dancing. She has collaborated with many artists all over the world including Think of One from Belgium; Tafelmusik, a Toronto based baroque orchestra; Montreal-based DJ Geronimo Inutiq and the National Symphony Orchestra when they visited Iqaluit in 2012. “It’s really important when Indigenous artists are here at the School. When we show our presence through art, it connects us as human beings. And I think that’s the whole point.”
