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Ukrainian dance created to honour Indigenous people stirs controversy
By Jason Warick, CBC News Posted: Nov 26, 2017 5:00 AM CT Last Updated: Nov 26, 2017 5:00 AM CT
Six young men dance arm-in-arm, stomping as they move in a tight, precise circle.
The men kneel and clap as a dozen female dancers float and swirl and kick across the stage at a recent practice in their Saskatoon studio.
This Ukrainian folk dance is called the Holubka. It’s familiar territory for the dancers and their bouncing, gesticulating choreographer, Serhij Koroliuk.
Three months ago, the group faced a wave of accusations on social media for one of their other routines called Kaleidoscope. They said the dance was created to honour Indigenous people and other cultures, but critics labeled it “cultural appropriation.”
Ukrainian dance performance at Saskatoon Folkfest0:54
The term is popping up with increasing frequency — Halloween costumes, yoga classes, music sampling and author Joseph Boyden’s ancestry have all stirred debate. When is it OK to share, borrow or take elements of other cultures?
Koroliuk, as well as the Indigenous entrepreneur who first posted the video, Janelle Pewapsconias, agreed to sit down with CBC News to talk about Kaleidoscope, the fallout, and a surprising twist.
Janelle Pewapsconias
Indigenous entrepreneur and poet Janelle Pewapsconias (Bridget Yard)
Janelle Pewapsconias rushes into the coffee shop and says she can only stay for half an hour.
Founder and CEO of Neeched Up Games, she’s been working on a new version of her Indigenous and Canadian trivia challenge. She’s an active member of the Indigenous Poet’s Society and gave a recent TEDx speech in Calgary entitled “Walk a Mile in our Moccasins.”
Most importantly, she has to head off to pick up her son from after school care.
During this and other later conversations, Pewapsconias explained her take on cultural appropriation and many other issues.
Some have said it’s never OK for Ukrainians to dance powwow. Pewapsconias doesn’t go that far— her point is that this particular performance was disrespectful to Indigenous people.
That August night at Folkfest, Pewapsconias and her sister had enjoyed the dances and food at other pavilions, and hoped to do the same at the Ukrainian.
When Kaleidoscope began, she said everything changed.
She noticed the blanket contained flags of many immigrant nations but none from Treaty Six or the Métis Nation. The Indigenous dance costumes were partly plastic.
Pewapsconias noted that for decades, First Nations people were banned from dancing powwow and performing their spiritual ceremonies.
It was part of a massive effort to eradicate Indigenous culture that included residential schools, the pass system and the Sixties Scoop.
She and her family are finally reclaiming their culture, so she was shocked to see non-Indigenous people taking liberties with their traditions.
“It just immediately went from having a fun, OK night to feeling powerless, feeling angry,” she said.
“I feel this way. The people I’m with feel this way. I need to share this on social media and call this out. So that’s what I did.”
Serhij Koroliuk
Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble choreographer Serhij Koroliuk. (Bridget Yard)
Koroliuk hasn’t spoken publicly about this controversy until now.
He created Kaleidoscope as a love letter to Canada on his 10th anniversary of becoming a citizen. His dancers have performed this same routine several times in Saskatoon and around the world.
Koroliuk calls himself “a made in Ukraine Canadian.”
He was born just one generation after a genocide called the Holodomor in which 10 million Ukrainians were intentionally starved to death by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
So he was particularly hurt to see the online comments calling him a colonizer and accusing him of cultural appropriation.
“Shocked. The simple answer is I was shocked. So were my dancers,” he said.
“I thought I was contributing in this way and expressing my gratitude but I felt like I was outcasted and saying ‘This is not your place.'”
Don Speidel
Don Speidel of Buffalo Boy Productions. (Jason Warick)
Caught in the middle of the controversy was Don Speidel of Buffalo Boy Productions.
Speidel has traveled the world conducting ceremonies, including a recent honouring of late-singer Gord Downie in Ottawa.
Speidel has spent his life trying to bridge the gap between Indigenous cultures and the rest of society.
Speidel offered advice to Koroliuk when the dance was first created more than a decade ago. Many criticized Speidel for “approving” the dance, but others say Koroliuk took liberties and should have consulted more. Still others saw the dance as imperfect but applauded the effort to honour Indigenous cultures.
Speidel said he doesn’t want to point fingers at anyone — he’d rather figure out ways to bring people together.
He said he understands the frustration of young Indigenous people who are often finding their voice through social media. He also sees the efforts being made by non-Indigenous people, even if the execution doesn’t match the intent.
He said the key is for everyone to respect each other.
“When you want authentic engagement, you might be prepared to take that relationship to a whole other level.”
“It’s really about that idea of coming from a place of goodness.”
Reconciliation
That relationship-building has already begun.
The pair met recently, and agreed to take the stage together in Saskatoon Wednesday.
Koroliuk has put Kaleidoscope on hold. He said he didn’t intend to cause pain but knows that the dance did.
He wants to work with Indigenous experts and hopes they can find a way to honour First Nations people.
“I’m puzzled and definitely I will have to address it differently,” he said. “Many hurt was done to First Nations people. I recognize that. We all live side by side. Let’s be good friends and neighbours. Let’s build this great country together.”
Pewapsconias also wants to learn more. She said she never meant to hurt anyone, but knows the Facebook posts did.
She said reconciliation begins with conversation — sometimes those are awkward, sometimes painful.
“I hope good things come from this and we’re able to leave the table being able to shake each other’s hand and give each other the respect they deserve,” she said. “because we’re all human.”
CBC Saskatchewan is hosting a discussion on cultural appropriation at the Broadway Theatre Wednesday, Nov. 29. Guests include Pewapsconias and Koroliuk, as well as artists, academics and elders of all cultures.