Who We Are
IPANL was founded in March 2024 by founding board members Ivan J White, Judy White and Tera McDonald, with founding artistic curator Leahdawn Helena. Board expansion is scheduled following a strategic planning session in November 2024.
A message from Leahdawn Helena, Artistic Curator
Kwe’ everyone,
I am Leahdawn Helena, I’m the Artistic Curator of Indigenous Performing Arts NL.
IPANL was formed with a mandate to create, support, and present Indigenous stories in the area now known as Newfoundland and Labrador, but there is so much more to this organization.
As an artist, as a two-spirit person, as an indigenous Canadian of mixed heritage, there are two values that I try to embody in my own journey. One is decolonizing practice, and the second is the act of two-eyed seeing.
Decolonizing practice is the work of challenging and changing the established White-Western patriarchal norms that the artistic work I do is based upon, and instead finding ways to incorporate practices that better align with the cultural values found in Indigenous ways of being.
Two eyed seeing is learning to observe and experience the world with one eye toward the strengths and knowledge of Indigenous ways of knowledge, and one eye toward the strengths and knowledge of White-Western ways of knowledge.
In this, we carry forward the practices that work best from both perspectives to build new, better ways of practising our craft that are more inclusive, accessible, flexible, and beneficial to all parties involved. We leave the things that do not work and do not serve us behind.
When settlers have spoken about Indigenous communities, it is often in a way that portrays us in antiquity - as relics of a bygone era, rather than as living, thriving communities of people with beating hearts and vibrant cultures.
Performing arts in our communities are closely tied to the sacred, the ceremonial, and traditional forms of storytelling. These traditions have carried on over generations, and have been adapted as our communities have adapted to the ways the world has changed around us.
The art created by, about, and for Indigenous Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is as vital and relevant to the here and now and the yet-to-come as any other professionally produced work in this province.
We sing, we dance, we drum, we speak, and, by telling our stories on our own terms, we define and redefine what it means to exist as Indigenous people and communities on these lands.
And this is why IPANL was formed - to support creators who want to bring their work to the next level. Who want to connect with wider audiences and fellow artists. Who are creating work that challenges stereotypes and the status quo.
I am so grateful and proud of everyone who is starting to attend our events. It signals to me that you are ready to see, hear, and feel perspectives that may be unfamiliar or challenging to you.
That you are willing to hear the truth, and start doing the hard work of reflection that must be done if reconciliation is ever to be more than a distant hope.
I hope you’ll join us over the coming months - and years, fingers crossed - to support an array of Indigenous performing artists from home and abroad, as they share their own stories and perspectives.
Wela’lioq.
I am Leahdawn Helena, I’m the Artistic Curator of Indigenous Performing Arts NL.
IPANL was formed with a mandate to create, support, and present Indigenous stories in the area now known as Newfoundland and Labrador, but there is so much more to this organization.
As an artist, as a two-spirit person, as an indigenous Canadian of mixed heritage, there are two values that I try to embody in my own journey. One is decolonizing practice, and the second is the act of two-eyed seeing.
Decolonizing practice is the work of challenging and changing the established White-Western patriarchal norms that the artistic work I do is based upon, and instead finding ways to incorporate practices that better align with the cultural values found in Indigenous ways of being.
Two eyed seeing is learning to observe and experience the world with one eye toward the strengths and knowledge of Indigenous ways of knowledge, and one eye toward the strengths and knowledge of White-Western ways of knowledge.
In this, we carry forward the practices that work best from both perspectives to build new, better ways of practising our craft that are more inclusive, accessible, flexible, and beneficial to all parties involved. We leave the things that do not work and do not serve us behind.
When settlers have spoken about Indigenous communities, it is often in a way that portrays us in antiquity - as relics of a bygone era, rather than as living, thriving communities of people with beating hearts and vibrant cultures.
Performing arts in our communities are closely tied to the sacred, the ceremonial, and traditional forms of storytelling. These traditions have carried on over generations, and have been adapted as our communities have adapted to the ways the world has changed around us.
The art created by, about, and for Indigenous Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is as vital and relevant to the here and now and the yet-to-come as any other professionally produced work in this province.
We sing, we dance, we drum, we speak, and, by telling our stories on our own terms, we define and redefine what it means to exist as Indigenous people and communities on these lands.
And this is why IPANL was formed - to support creators who want to bring their work to the next level. Who want to connect with wider audiences and fellow artists. Who are creating work that challenges stereotypes and the status quo.
I am so grateful and proud of everyone who is starting to attend our events. It signals to me that you are ready to see, hear, and feel perspectives that may be unfamiliar or challenging to you.
That you are willing to hear the truth, and start doing the hard work of reflection that must be done if reconciliation is ever to be more than a distant hope.
I hope you’ll join us over the coming months - and years, fingers crossed - to support an array of Indigenous performing artists from home and abroad, as they share their own stories and perspectives.
Wela’lioq.
Leahdawn (she/they/nekm) was born and raised on the west coast of Ktaqmkuk (the island of Newfoundland), and is trained as an actor, writer, director, and dramaturge. They hold degrees in both Theatre and Sociocultural Studies from Memorial University Grenfell Campus.
Their first full-length screenplay, Ruthless, was selected for a Newfoundland Arts and Letters prize in 2020. In 2021 they directed Petrina Bromley in Elizabeth Hicks’ one-woman short play, Hearty at Eighty, for PerSIStence Theatre. In 2021 they performed in Stephenville Theatre Festival in Meghan Greeley’s To the Girls, as well as the tour production in 2023.
Their play, Stolen Sisters, which premiered in 2022, features Order of Canada member Deantha Edmunds, and is historically grounded in the colonial experiences of Beothuk and Mi’kmaw women and girls. Stolen Sisters toured across Newfoundland in 2023, Labrador in January 2024, and New Brunswick in April 2024.
Their most recent work, Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues From The Edge, was researched and created with support from PerSIStence Theatre and York University.
They work as a freelance Dramaturg and as an Indigenous Sociocultural Consultant for the St John’s and Avalon Arts community, working with Artistic Fraud, St John’s Shorts, PerSIStence Theatre, and the Cupids Legacy Project, among others.
L’nuit. Tleiawit Nujio’qonik. (They are L’nu. They have family roots in the Bay St George region.)
Their first full-length screenplay, Ruthless, was selected for a Newfoundland Arts and Letters prize in 2020. In 2021 they directed Petrina Bromley in Elizabeth Hicks’ one-woman short play, Hearty at Eighty, for PerSIStence Theatre. In 2021 they performed in Stephenville Theatre Festival in Meghan Greeley’s To the Girls, as well as the tour production in 2023.
Their play, Stolen Sisters, which premiered in 2022, features Order of Canada member Deantha Edmunds, and is historically grounded in the colonial experiences of Beothuk and Mi’kmaw women and girls. Stolen Sisters toured across Newfoundland in 2023, Labrador in January 2024, and New Brunswick in April 2024.
Their most recent work, Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues From The Edge, was researched and created with support from PerSIStence Theatre and York University.
They work as a freelance Dramaturg and as an Indigenous Sociocultural Consultant for the St John’s and Avalon Arts community, working with Artistic Fraud, St John’s Shorts, PerSIStence Theatre, and the Cupids Legacy Project, among others.
L’nuit. Tleiawit Nujio’qonik. (They are L’nu. They have family roots in the Bay St George region.)
Ivan J White - chair
Ivan J hails from the Mi’kmaw community of Flat Bay, on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland.
A sharer and connector at heart, Ivan J combines his experience in audio and communications to facilitate and reveal authentic stories that contribute to Mi'kmaw pride and progress, as well as the advocacy of inclusivity and support for all Indigenous folks who inhabit this place.
Ivan J has worked professionally in multiple fields including arts administration, event management, and journalism with credits in published writing, music, and filmmaking. This experience has taken him into spaces, and introduced him to people that have impacted him greatly and assisted in furthering his mission of sharing, inclusion and collaboration.
When you condense Ivan’s practices down to base parts - the admin, the filmmaking, the writing, the music, the guidance, the building of spaces, the platforming of voices - you end up with ‘storyteller’ being the common thread with the ultimate goal being the support of people’s voices. He prefers this term
“I act as a conduit and amplifier for my people, documenting stories and creating new ones. I will speak for them when necessary, but never without them.”
Ivan J lives in Shallop Cove with his wife Crystal and their two children Isabella and Ivan Jacob.
A sharer and connector at heart, Ivan J combines his experience in audio and communications to facilitate and reveal authentic stories that contribute to Mi'kmaw pride and progress, as well as the advocacy of inclusivity and support for all Indigenous folks who inhabit this place.
Ivan J has worked professionally in multiple fields including arts administration, event management, and journalism with credits in published writing, music, and filmmaking. This experience has taken him into spaces, and introduced him to people that have impacted him greatly and assisted in furthering his mission of sharing, inclusion and collaboration.
When you condense Ivan’s practices down to base parts - the admin, the filmmaking, the writing, the music, the guidance, the building of spaces, the platforming of voices - you end up with ‘storyteller’ being the common thread with the ultimate goal being the support of people’s voices. He prefers this term
“I act as a conduit and amplifier for my people, documenting stories and creating new ones. I will speak for them when necessary, but never without them.”
Ivan J lives in Shallop Cove with his wife Crystal and their two children Isabella and Ivan Jacob.
Judy A. White - vice-chair
Judy White is a Mi’kmaq, a member of the Flat Bay Band, and a King’s Counsel lawyer with significant experience in human rights issues, Indigenous governance, and legislative matters. She is a Canadian senator representing Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ms. White was previously the Assistant Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and, through an interchange arrangement, served as Director of Engagement for Distinctions-based Legislation with the Government of Canada.
She has worked on numerous boards and in governance, serving many agencies in various capacities, including as the former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, Chair of the Inuvialuit Arbitration Board, and Co-Chair (Indigenous) of Equal Voice’s Newfoundland and Labrador chapter.
In 2022, Ms. White received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of gender equality. She is also the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Gordon M. Stirling Distinguished Service Award from the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University with a particular emphasis on Indigenous law. She also completed the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources, and Governments at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, the Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities Program – an Indigenous certificate program – at Harvard Business School, and the Chartered Director Program at McMaster University.
Ms. White was previously the Assistant Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and, through an interchange arrangement, served as Director of Engagement for Distinctions-based Legislation with the Government of Canada.
She has worked on numerous boards and in governance, serving many agencies in various capacities, including as the former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, Chair of the Inuvialuit Arbitration Board, and Co-Chair (Indigenous) of Equal Voice’s Newfoundland and Labrador chapter.
In 2022, Ms. White received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of gender equality. She is also the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Gordon M. Stirling Distinguished Service Award from the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University with a particular emphasis on Indigenous law. She also completed the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources, and Governments at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, the Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities Program – an Indigenous certificate program – at Harvard Business School, and the Chartered Director Program at McMaster University.
Tera McDonald - secretary
Tera McDonald creates space to uplift Indigenous narrative and success through both a two-eyed seeing and reconciliation informed DEI approach and a creative arts practice. A Mi’kmaw two-spirit from St. George’s Indian Band and Qalipu First Nation, they are the founder and owner of Kalawikk (Gal-a-wikk) Diversity Inc, Tera leverages 20 years of adult education experience and creative practice to exact greater impact in inclusivity, accessibility, diversity, and equitability standards.
When not guest speaking or facilitating in the DEI space, Tera is found sharing Indigenous stories through the power of documentary and the written word. Their first documentary series, Unsung–the unknown stories of Indigenous Veterans, will air on Bell Fibe TV1 in 2024 while they develop their second documentary series: Reclamation. Tera is one of 15 delegates selected to bring their current projects to the 2024 Banff World Media Summit and will pitch in front of potential broadcasters. Here, Tera hopes to secure support for Reclamation and be in production of the documentary series in Spring 2025.
To find out more, Tera shares an intimate look at their story as a chapter contributor to ‘With Grace and Grit, Vol. 2’ (June 2024); a book celebrating the inspiring stories of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada.
When not guest speaking or facilitating in the DEI space, Tera is found sharing Indigenous stories through the power of documentary and the written word. Their first documentary series, Unsung–the unknown stories of Indigenous Veterans, will air on Bell Fibe TV1 in 2024 while they develop their second documentary series: Reclamation. Tera is one of 15 delegates selected to bring their current projects to the 2024 Banff World Media Summit and will pitch in front of potential broadcasters. Here, Tera hopes to secure support for Reclamation and be in production of the documentary series in Spring 2025.
To find out more, Tera shares an intimate look at their story as a chapter contributor to ‘With Grace and Grit, Vol. 2’ (June 2024); a book celebrating the inspiring stories of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada.
