One of the stories explored in Welsh National Opera’s acclaimed new opera Migrations is Treaty Six, which highlights the ongoing fight of the Beaver Lake Cree a First Nations people in Canada, trying to preserve their way of life. The treaty of the title is an actual document that was signed on 23 August 1876 at Fort Carlton in Saskatchewan, between the Cree and the Canadian Crown – a treaty of ‘peace and friendship’, as the Cree saw it, signed with the ‘four directions’, or, to the Western world, an ‘X’.
We asked librettist Sarah Woods, who wrote both Treaty Six and The English Lesson, about her approach to writing the two different stories for our opera and how she became involved with the Cree First Nation and their continuing fight.
‘In some ways, I approached the two pieces in the same way: both are based on people’s lives and current experiences, both are stories I feel passionate about, and both focus on communities I know and have worked with. Other than that, the shape of the stories is different. While they both happen in the present and involve characters looking back to key moments in the past, Treaty Six is about an ongoing campaign that is being fought.
12 years ago, I made a film about the effects of the Canadian tar sands with a group of young Welsh people, in collaboration with a young Beaver Lake Cree filmmaker and young people from that community. Through the project I learnt about the battle they continue to fight, to protect their way of life – and to protect life for all of us who share the planet.
In returning to the subject, I knew I had to talk to Crystal. Crystal is a member of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation and a powerful campaigner. My interview with her enabled me to understand more deeply both the past and present story. It built on conversations I had a dozen years ago with Myron Lameman, whose input was also important and inspiring.
I stay in touch with Crystal, especially to ensure she is aware of what is happening with the opera. As it currently stands, the case is very much as represented in the opera. They need our support – and they are fighting for all of us.
In preparing Migrations for production, I was in touch with the Raven Trust, who raise legal defence funds for indigenous people in Canada, to enable them to defend their rights, and maintain their lands and cultures.’
As Migrations tours as part of our Autumn Season, you can find out how Sarah manages to portray the Cree’s ongoing struggle against the pressures of industrial development and how this story interrelates and combines with the five other storylines in our epic production about the many effects of migration. See it in Cardiff, Llandudno, Plymouth, Birmingham or Southampton between 2 October and 26 November.