An art project celebrating Black people living in rural Saskatchewan made it’s way to Regina today.
Artist Shayna Jones, one of the performers responsible for creating the project, grew up in a rural home in British Columbia.
“I found myself curious about the lives and experiences of other black individuals who others like myself, have chosen to tuck themselves outside of urban settings.,” Jones said. “That launched this national project of inquiry.”
Jones conducted a series of interviews to understand the Saskatchewan “Black and rural” experience.
She spoke with people from different backgrounds, including descendants of the first African Canadian settlers in Saskatchewan, who shared the stories passed down through their family.
“They faced the intensity of the task of settling in this land,” Jones explained. “They faced the glaring sun and the mountains of snow. They had to face triumph and tragedy in starting life here in Saskatchewan. Yet at the same time, they had to bear the burden of being the Black ones doing this work.”
And yet the stories received from the descendants are stories of their strength, kindness, love, and generosity in the face of the racial tensions faced in Saskatchewan.
Early in 2021, Heritage Saskatchewan reached out to Jones to collaborate on the project and focus on Saskatchewan. For the last year, she has been listening to the stories of Black people and Black individuals from Urban Areas.
With the knowledge of stories from across Saskatchewan, Jones created a performance called “Black and Rural Saskatchewan”, which she describes as “a window into a readily overlooked segment of not only prairie life but Black Canadian life in general. To choose to live outside of the urban maze as a Black individual is to live outside of the narrow bandwidth afforded to us by mainstream culture. The aim of this project is to honour these hidden rural Black voices and to challenge the monolith of what matters to Black lives.”
The final performance runs today, June 23 at 7 p.m. at the École Monseigneur de Laval Pavillion secondaire des Quatre Vents.
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