Dreaming the World

IPTN: Conundrums and Burning Issues

Montreal was hazy, a thin layer of smoke hung over the city. Tens of thousands of aces of forest were ablaze in northern Canada, and the smoke from those fires rode the westerlies to Montreal. Some days were worse than others, resulting in hacking coughs and burning eyes. At the conference, this haze was a…

Michael Watson PhD

July 21, 2015

Healing, Social issues, Stories, Teaching

IPTN, Playback Theatre, Social Change, stories, teaching

IPTN: Making Room at the Table

Last week we were at the International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN) conference in Montreal, where along with marvelous summer festivals, the city was discussing the Oka crisis of twenty-five years ago. In a very familiar conversation, Federal and provincial governments were heralding the great improvement in their relations with First Nations people, while many Indigenous…

Michael Watson PhD

July 16, 2015

First Nations, Stories, Travel

First Nations, IPTN, stories, teaching

Thoughts on the 4th of July

The July 4th holiday has past, last night’s fireworks following a torrent of rain from an impressive thunderstorm. For a few days I have been thinking about the strange, or perhaps, not so strange, tension July 4th holds for me. My parents, as far as I know, did not face the holiday with the same…

Michael Watson PhD

July 5, 2015

First Nations, Social issues

July 4th, Native American, U.S. History

From Lived Experience Springs Hope

After another wet day, the sun is again shining, the sky clear and blue. Over the past few days I’ve found myself in several conversations about the interweaving of the experience of being other, creativity, and social issues. These discussions have proven inspiring and hopeful. This morning I was going through the blogs I follow,…

Michael Watson PhD

June 24, 2015

Arts, First Nations, Social issues, Stories

Arts, healing, Indigenous, stories