Abstract
In 1967 George Ryga wrote The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, ironically celebrating Canada’s centennial with the first Canadian play to portray the tragedy of our aboriginal peoples; it subsequently became a canonical staple of Canadian theatre. Depicting the martyrdom of a Native girl on the streets of Vancouver, it was a powerful consciousness-raising experience for its white, middle-class audiences. Nevertheless, the play simplistically sentimentalised the aboriginal plight as the victimisation of passive children by irresponsible white parents: a Eurocentric, patriarchal paradigm that reflected the Department of Indian Affairs’ assimilation-ist policies.
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