At Canada’s National Arts Centre arts education is a core priority. We believe strongly in the positive experience that students gain when exposed to live theatre
These NAC English Theatre Study Guides are written with several intentions in mind: firstly, to aid teachers in their preparation prior to taking their students to a matinee performance at the NAC; secondly, to encourage teachers across Canada to use the guides as a teaching tool in their classrooms; for students themselves who wish to explore deeper in the world of the play ; and finally, as interesting adjuncts for our general audience who might wish to learn more about the creation and background of our productions.
Play Synopsis of Agokwe by Wawaate Fobister
A one-act, one-man play set in the northern, Ontario town of Kenora during hockey tournament time, involving Anishinaabeg reserves from the surrounding area.
The Ojibwe First Nation: Background
LINGUISTICS: Autonyms, Ethnonyms, and Etymology
*Note: There are many variants of spelling regarding First Nations’ language, vocabulary and terminology - indicated within brackets. One form is used throughout, for purposes of simplicity. Subsequently, the terms “Ojibwe” and “Anishanaabeg” are used interchangeably.
According to Oral traditions, the Ojibwe (Ojibway/Ojibwa), Potawatomi, and Odawa (Ottawa) Nations were once a single People known as the Three Fires of the Anishinaabeg. The Ojibwe refer to themselves as the Anishinaabeg (Anishinabeg/Anishinabek) or, in the singular form, Anishinaabe (Anishinabe/ Anishinaubae /Anishnabai /Nishnawbe) meaning First People or Original Peoples. The use of the term “Ojibwe” and “Chippewa (Chippeway)” resulted from contact with the French and the British. The origin of the word “Ojibwe”, and its multiple spellings, may be related to the Anishinaabe word for “puckered”, referring to their traditional moccasins, distinctively sewn with a puckered seam. Or, it may be derived from the French coining the Anishinaabe word “ojibiweg” meaning “pictograph” as they acknowledged an indigenous form of written communication based on symbols and pictures.
