Scenes from the Nanaimo Indian Hospital
A play exploring truth, memory, and resilience.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Scenes from the Nanaimo Indian Hospital is a powerful theatrical work. Combining oral history, artistic expression, and collaborative storytelling, the play exposes the human cost of segregated medical institutions imposed on Indigenous people in Canada. It is both a tribute to resilience and a call to reckon with histories too long hidden.
process
This play was developed through a collaborative process involving Survivors, Indigenous artists, community members, and researchers. Their voices shape every scene, creating a space where truth and imagination meet to honour the stories of those affected by colonial harm.
“The three young girls in their beds express the exuberance and buoyancy of youth, a spirit that carries them through all the nastiness of the institution.”
“The play is not all dark. It shares the playfulness of the little girls and is sprinkled with First Nations humor.”
” A pivotal piece of the project is language re-awakening and exposure. The actors speak in Hul’q’umin’um’, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwak’wala.”
Updates on performances and resources will appear here.