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Big Green Sky

Big Green Sky is a social justice play commissioned and produced by Windsor Feminist Theatre, which debuted in May 2016 in Windsor Ontario. It was prompted by the outrage over the acquittal of Bradley Barton in the trial of Cindy Gladue’s murder. This play is a direct result of reaching out to Muriel Stanley Venne, Chair of the Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice, and President of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women. Venne's report was submitted to United Nations rapporteur James Anaya. Venne created her report because she wanted to 'influence decision makers who have become very complacent and unconcerned about the lives of Indigenous women in our country.”

The playwright has created his heroine to be a Nigerian woman who moves to Northern Canada to see the Northern Lights and immerses herself in aboriginal culture. In this sense, members of the audience who are non-aboriginal are invited to take part in the journey of this “outsider” as she learns and uncovers the mysteries of murdered and missing aboriginal women. The title Big Green Sky comes from the display of the aurora borealis or Northern Lights. Aboriginal interpretations include that the Northern Lights represent the spirits of the departed who are communicating with their loved ones. The play will be gifted by WFT to any organization or individual wishing to bring awareness to this issue, and distributed without royalty fees, providing that all revenues/fundraising efforts be donated to local First Nations, Inuit or Metis women’s initiatives.