Great Writers from our First Nations by Kim Sigafus & Lyle Ernst

Author:Kim Sigafus & Lyle Ernst
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Indian authors—Canada—Biography—Juvenile literature. Indian authors—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. Native peoples in literature—Juvenile literature.
Publisher: Second Story Press
Published: 2012-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

James Reaney

James Reaney was a Canadian poet, playwright, professor, and librettist. A librettist writes the words that accompany an extended musical work, such as an opera. Reaney was very influential and won awards for both his poetry and drama. He was awarded the Canadian Governor General’s Award three times.

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After graduating from high school in 1970, Tomson spent two years studying piano at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Music. Then he moved to London, England, to study piano with Canadian music specialist William Aide. When he returned to Canada, he enrolled at the University of Western Ontario. While in Ontario, he also worked with James Reaney, a playwright and poet. Tomson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1975.

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, Tomson began working as a social worker with Native groups all across Canada. For seven years he worked with children from broken families, Native elders, prison inmates, and others. This involvement with Indigenous people made Tomson aware of the many problems they faced.

In the 1980s Tomson began writing plays with Native themes. The Aboriginal people he met during his time as a social worker were his inspiration. His plays were performed mostly at urban Native community centers and on reservations. During this same period he worked with various Native theater companies as an actor, director, and musical director.

In 1986 Tomson was acknowledged nationally for his play The Rez Sisters. In the play, seven Native women of varying ages from the fictitious Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve in northern Ontario go to the world’s largest bingo game in Toronto. The story describes how they plan to get to the bingo game and how they actually get there. Along the way, the women experience both discord and acceptance, and they become like sisters by the end of the trip. The play is about heartbreak and hope, and all the women’s stories are humorous and provide insight into the positive values taught in Indian mythology.

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