Waawaate Fobister (

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, instructor, producer and storyteller, best known for their semi-autobiographical one-man play, ''Agokwe.''

Early life

Fobister grew up on the

Grassy Narrows First Nation Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation (also known as Grassy Narrows First Nation or the ''Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg'' in the Ojibwe language) is an Ojibwe First Nations band government who inhabit northern Kenora in Ontario, Canada ...

reserve, north of

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

, Ontario. As a child, Fobister's father and grandfather introduced them to the indigenous

oral storytelling Oral storytelling is an ancient and intimate tradition between the storyteller and their audience. The storyteller and the listeners are physically close, often seated together in a circular fashion. The intimacy and connection is deepened by t ...

tradition; a path that Fobister would choose for themself as well. At the age of eighteen, Fobister came out as gay or

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

ed. Growing up on the reservation, they encountered

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and abuse; experiences which they channel into their work. Fobister got their spirit name, Waawaate, which means Northern Lights, as they began to explore their Native spirituality. As Fobister recalls, they met with a medicine woman who could give spirit names. After presenting the woman with tobacco, she instructed them to come back in a few weeks and that after prayer, they would find a spirit name. Upon Fobister's return, the woman told them she had found their spirit name and said, "...when I saw it, I saw...dark sky, and I seen lights and I seen dancing", referencing the Northern Lights which, in Anishinaabe culture represent spirits dancing. Fobister earned a degree in Theatre Arts Performance as well as the Distinguished Performance Award from

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

in 2005. They also studied theater and dance at

Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

School of Toronto Dance Theatre The School of Toronto Dance Theatre is a dance school located in the Cabbagetown, Toronto, Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1968, the School today runs under the Artistic Direction of Sasha Ivanochko and is a ...

Centre for Indigenous Theatre The Centre for Indigenous Theatre is a non-for profit theater educational institution located in Toronto, Ontario. It focuses on performance art from an Indigenous cultural foundation. History James H. Buller founded the Centre in 1974 as the ...

, and Kahawi Dance Theatre.

Career

Fobister performed their first play, ''Savage'', at public and private schools throughout Ontario. ''Savage'' tells the story of a young gay boy and his mentor in a small town. Shortly after graduating from Humber College, Fobister wrote ''Agokwe'' (a variation of ''agokwa,'' the Anishinaabe word which loosely translates to "man-woman" but in modern usage is better understood as "two-spirited"), a story of unrequited love between two gay teenage boys. The play explores themes of love, sexuality, homophobia, isolation, and Native cultural traditions. ''Agokwe'' premiered at Toronto's

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

theater on September 23, 2008. The play went on to win six

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

s, including Outstanding New Play, in 2009. Four years later, Fobister's second play, ''Medicine Boy'' premiered at the

Scotiabank Studio Theatre The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

, August 9–18, 2012. ''Medicine Boy'' tells stories of inter-generational trauma within First Nations families stemming from

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

, residential schools, and

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...

poisoning the land. In 2019, Fobister introduced ''Omaagomaan'' (loosely translated as "someone biting very hard"), a dance that draws attention to the

mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

and subsequent health problems within their community in Grassy Narrows. In addition to stage performance, Fobister has appeared in the films ''Famous'' (post-production) and ''The Time Traveler'' (2009) and was playwright in residence for the 2019–20 season at

Native Earth Performing Arts Native Earth Performing Arts is a Canadian theatre company located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1982, Native Earth is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Native Earth is dedicated to developing, producing and presenting pro ...

in Toronto and at

Magnus Theatre The Magnus Theatre - The Dr. S. Penny Petrone Centre for the Performing Arts in Thunder Bay, Ontario was founded in 1971 and is Northwestern Ontario's professional theatre company. History Founded by British director Burton Lancaster, who had th ...

in Thunder Bay. In 2021 they were a panelist on "Dance Ogichidas" at The Bridge: A Festival of Ideas at the

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford Festival, Stratford and Shaw Festival, Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the countr ...

, Curator of Indigenous Content at the 2021 Kick & Push Festival, and named the coordinator of the new council for LGBTQ2S indigenous people in Grand Council of Treaty 3 territory. In May 2021, Fobister presented their short play ''Ode to RED Auntie'' at the Tiny Plays, Big Ideas digital event for the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. As of 2021, Fobister teaches at the

Manitoba Theatre for Young People Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults in The Forks area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. , MTYP's annual attendance regularly exceeds 100,000. Within the theatre complex are two performance venues: a ...

Awards, grants, and nominations

Awards

* 2005 Humber College Distinguished Performance Award * 2009 Dora Mavor Moore Award, Outstanding New Play, ''Agokwe'' * 2009 Dora Mavor Moore Award, Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role - Play, ''Agokwe'' * 2014 Bonham Centre Youth Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

for his contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.

Grants

* ear National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation * ear

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...

* ear

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

Nominations

* ear Ontario Premiers' Award * ear K.M. Hunter Award * ear Sterling Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fobister, Waawaate 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male stage actors First Nations dramatists and playwrights First Nations male actors Ojibwe people People from Kenora District Canadian gay writers Canadian gay actors Living people Male actors from Ontario Writers from Ontario Two-spirit people LGBT First Nations people LGBT rights activists from Canada Dora Mavor Moore Award winners LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century First Nations writers Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian non-binary writers Canadian non-binary actors