[BCMA] Plant Diva Speaks at the Fraser River Discovery Centre

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Media Release

For Immediate Release

June 7, 2011

 

Plant "Diva" at the Fraser River Discovery Centre

 

New Westminster, BC - What do you know about the plants that are growing
around us? Whether it's the secret curl of a fiddlehead, the gentleness of
comfrey, or the blood red streaks of frog leaf, their shape, colour and
texture tell us what they are good for.  

 

Join us at the Fraser River Discovery Centre on Thursday, June 23 as we
reveal the remarkable healing powers of plants with a rare screening of
Indigenous Plant Diva, directed by local filmmaker Kamala Todd. In this 10
minute Nation Film Board of Canada film, Todd looks at T'Uy'Tanat-Cease Wyss
and her connection to urban plants.  

 

In the language of the Squamish Nation, Cease Wyss was given the name
"T'Uy'Tanat", meaning "woman who travels by canoe to gather medicines for
all people." In Todd's lyrical portrait, Wyss shares her traditional
knowledge of the plants that can be found throughout the streets and
everyday spaces of Vancouver.

 

T'Uy'Tanat-Cease Wyss is from the Skwxw'u7mesh (Squamish) Nation and is an
Ethnobotanist/Media Artist/Educator/Activist. Her works addresses spiritual
and physical matters, as well as having cultural influences from her
indigenous roots, while addressing her European ancestry. In January 2012,
she'll be beginning a residency at the Shadbolt Centre working on a project
called "Red Velvet" in which she'll be exploring her Coast Salish and
Hawaiian ancestry. 

 

Kamala Todd is a Metis-Cree/German writer, filmmaker, community planner and
homeschooling mother of 2 boys. Her film Indigenous Plant Diva has been
screened at several festivals around the world and her most recent film
Cedar and Bamboo premiered at DOXA and currently on exhibition at the Wing
Luke Museum in Washington State. She is currently working with the City of
Vancouver on a cross-cultural dialogues project bringing Aboriginal and
immigrant communities together to build understanding. 

 

Doors will open at 6:30 with the program beginning at 7:00pm.  This short
film will be followed with Todd speaking about the making of the film and
Wyss sharing her knowledge of the medical benefits of plants that grow
throughout the Lower Mainland.  Admission to the evening is by donation and
includes a viewing of the Plants Alive! Native Plants of the Fraser River
basin exhibit.   Light refreshments will be served.  Seating is limited
therefore pre-registration is recommended.  Please call the Discovery Centre
at 604-521-8401 to reserve your seat. 

 

For further information visit our website at www.fraserriverdiscovery.org
<http://www.fraserriverdiscovery.org/>  or call 604.521.8401.

 

The Fraser River Discovery Centre is an interpretive centre connecting
communities in discovery and celebration of the living, working Fraser
River.  Located at 788 Quayside Drive, New Westminster, the Discovery Centre
is open 10am to 4pm, 7 days a week until August 31. Admission is by donation
for the exhibit galleries.

 

-30-

Photo Information:

Image courtesy of Cease Wyss: T'Uy'Tanat-Cease Wyss with her daughter
Senaqwila

 

For more information, please contact:

FRASER RIVER DISCOVERY CENTRE

Cindy Sale, Communication and Events Coordinator

csale at fraserriverdiscovery.org;  604.521.8401 x 103  

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