Blood Sport | Reading by acclaimed Indigenous author January Rogers and cast
This satirical play, penned in 2022 by Mohawk writer January Rogers, confronts the seriousness of false Indigenous identifying individuals, in the arts and education sectors specifically, through the use of humour and a game-show scenario. Culturally confused contestants compete for the right to claim Indigenous identity through a series of ridiculous games and tasks while learning the right ways to claim their Indigenous identities, if in fact, any is to be found. A stage reading of Blood Sport will be presented with four readers. There will be the use of minimal props and audio cues to enhance the reading.
The 40-minute reading will be followed by a brief intermission and then panel discussion of the work itself and about the subject of Indigenous identity, so glaringly brought to light by the extraordinary case of Buffy Sainte-Marie and the spate of other people who have come under scrutiny, such as author Joseph Boyden, scholar Carrie Bourassa, filmmaker Michelle Latimer, former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, and, recently, mother and daughters Karima Manji and Amira and Nadya Gill.
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About the author
January Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer from Six Nations of the Grand River. She was born in Vancouver British Columbia in 1963 and raised in southern Ontario. January has worked at numerous residencies in Vancouver BC, Santa Fe, NM and Edmonton, AB. She is based on Six Nations of the Grand River territory where she operates the Ojistoh Publishing label. January works in page poetry, spoken word performance poetry, video poetry and recorded poetry with music. She is a radio broadcaster, documentary producer, and media and sound artist.
Her literary titles include: Splitting the Heart, Ekstasis Editions 2007; Red Erotic, Ojistah Publishing 2010; Unearthed, Leaf Press 2011; Peace in Duress, Talonbooks 2014, Totem Poles and Railroads, ARP Books 2016, and As Long As the Sun Shines (English edition), Bookland Press 2018 with a Mohawk language edition released in 2019. Ego of a Nation is January’s 7th poetry title which she independently produced on the Ojistoh Publishing label 2020.
https://www.ojistohpublishing.com
Cast includes:
Carly Billings as The Ref
Mykola Paskaruk as Todd
Jordan Jameison as The Hypeman
January Rogers as Jill
Tyrell King as Chorus/Commercials/Stage Notes
Panelists include:
Dr. Jolene Rickard - associate professor of Indigenous Art at Cornell University, Tuscarora
January Rogers – acclaimed poet, author, and media producer, Mohawk / Tuscarora
Karl Dockstader – cultural advisor for Niagara College, Oneida
Tim Johnson – senior advisor for museums, heritage and legacy , Mohawk