The Museum of North Vancouver (MONOVA) invites everyone to join them for an intimate screening of Dancing Around the Table to honour the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. This renowned film from 1987 provides a fascinating look at the crucial role Indigenous people played in shaping the Canadian Constitution.

Pre-registration is appreciated but not required for entry. Reserve your space at Selected Cinema: Dancing Around the Table Tickets, Saturday, September 26  •  2 PM – 5 PM | Eventbrite

—

DANCING AROUND THE TABLE PART I – directed by Maurice Bulbulian (1987, 57 min)                                                               The 1984 Federal Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters was a tumultuous and antagonistic process that pitted Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the First Ministers—who refused to include Indigenous inherent rights to self-government in the Constitution—against First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders, who would not back down from this historic opportunity to enshrine Indigenous rights. In a now infamous exchange, Kwakwaka’wakw lawyer and lead negotiator Bill Wilson states that he has two children who want to become lawyers and prime minister. When he says that they are Indigenous women, the male audience bursts into laughter, and Trudeau replies, “Tell them I’ll stick around until they’re ready.” Over 30 years later, Bill Wilson’s daughter, Jody Wilson-Raybould, became Canada’s first Indigenous Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.