Vance Banzo - 2019 Gchi Dewin Indigenous Storytellers Festival

www.gchidewin.ca/
What is the Gchi Dewin Indigenous Storytellers Festival?
Building on over three decades of combined diverse successful arts programming presentation by ReZ’91 Radio and MUSKRAT Magazine, the Gchi Dewin Collective has come together to present the annual Gchi Dewin Indigenous Storytelling Festival with the goal to generate awareness and build audiences for the rich Indigenous storytelling traditions.
Our mandate is to build cultural awareness and meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and youth through traditional and contemporary storytelling.
Gchi Dewin means “Big Heart” in the Anishinabe language. Storytellers are individuals with ‘big hearts’ because they listen, hold, and share traditional knowledge with the community.
Indigenous art and culture in Ontario- and indeed the world- is founded in its oral storytelling traditions. The Collective recognizes that Indigenous identity is rooted in the land and that our stories convey our entire local histories and worldview.
Our work is important because generations of storytelling traditions have been uprooted by the negative impacts of colonization and the Gchi Dewin Indigenous Storytellers Festival reclaims, revitalizes and advances this traditional arts practice.
The Festival explores innovative ways of interpreting oral literature, history, language significance and Indigenous culture through storytelling presentation in traditional, on-line, and broadcast formats which contributes to building cultural awareness on local, national, and international levels.