The Intercultural Complexities of Shoot The Indian: An Interview with Archer Pechawis

• Published in: Canadian Theatre Review
• Main Author: Flamme, Michelle La
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 2009
• Subjects: Visual Arts and Performing Arts; Tsimshian; Tsimshian*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/ctr.139.003; https://ctr.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/ctr.139.003

Shoot the Indian is a performance geared specifically to a mixed (read “non-Native”) audience. Presented during the Magnetic North Festival HIVE event, Shoot the Indian is an audience participation piece, where attendees have the opportunity to shoot a real Indian (Pechawis) with a paintball gun for five dollars. Riffing on the circus freak, vaudeville and old “Wild West” shows, this piece is a commentary on violence against Native people – a clown show, in other words. Pechawis stands in front of a 30-foot wide video projection wearing a beautiful Tsimshian mask (carved by Simon Reece) and a white painter suit. The mask serves a dual purpose: a challenge to the audience (will they shoot such a powerful cultural symbol?) and protection for Pechawis, as he has reinforced the mask with fiberglass. The video footage comes from old westerns edited down to the salient bits, namely Indians attacking whites. Pechawis includes a few sections of cowboys and cavalry playing in reverse. Shoot the Indian is available as a touring performance. Go to the web site to view the video footage of Shoot The Indian, HIVE, Vancouver BC, 2008 (adapted from “Shoot the Indian”).