With Movement

In With Movement, fancy shawl dancer Deanne Hupfield shares pow wow dancing, a high intensity expressive art form rooted in Indigenous wellbeing. Hupfield says "dancing is a way to think about hard things in our lives, move through them, and feel better after." She wears a gold jingle dress, which she made at the start of the pandemic. Hupfield used the process of making the dress as a vehicle to manage mental stress and build inner strength after stepping up to care for her family of seven during the lockdown in downtown Toronto. The "WW" pattern on the dress serves as a reminder to be her own Wonder Woman. The sound made by the gold jingles matches her movements, to compliment the spirit of “Double Gazebo”, adding a rhythmic and embodied sonic element, and active visual presence. The resulting documentary-style performative dance for video was filmed and edited by artist Liang Yue, with the assistance of Man Yi.

Deanne Hupfield is Anishnaabe from the Temagami First Nation in Ontario. A descendant of Indian Residential School survivors, she dedicates her life to learning about and preserving her culture. She started dancing at a young age and has spent her life passing on related teachings to her community. Hupfield has taught dance for the past 20 years, including weekend classes at The Native Canadian Center of Toronto. As an educator, she actively teaches the history of the Canadian policies that affect Indigenous people.