Kwe / Ndio !

Presentation in Wendat

Ndio aweti’

Catherine yiatsih
wendat chia’ québécoise endi’
yänariskwa’ iwayitiohkou’tenh
Wendake indare’
Cushing ekwayehtih

Hello everyone,

My name is Catherine.
I am Wendat and Quebecoise.
I come from the wolf clan.
I live in Wendake.
I come from Cushing.

I am an artist in dance, singing, and theater.
I work for the cultural and linguistic sector of Wendake.
I am the daughter of my parents.
I am the granddaughter of my grandparents.
I am my brother’s sister.
I am a friend, a cousin, a niece.

My family and my communities have been inspiring me for 31 years now. I grew up in a small village near the Ottawa River, the village is called Cushing. I grew up in my mother’s Quebec family, a family full of love. I still have deep roots there.

My father is Wendat and very proud of it. I have been actively reconnecting with my culture since 2015. I moved to Wendake 4 years ago and since then, other roots have been growing. I feel good here and I feel good in my culture. I am at the heart of the community, its traditions, the Wendat values, the language, the Wendat language.
Learning our language requires a lot of courage, diligence, and patience. Our language is dormant. We haven’t had any speakers for over a century. Revitalizing it is a great, difficult, and magnificent adventure.

I received this gift, which is this research grant, and what I want is to create something useful and tangible that inspires the members of my Wendat community, especially the children, to continue learning their language.

I wish to honor the Wendat language and give us courage as a Nation.

When I learn my language,
I feel that it is the echo of my ancestors’ past-present-future.
Like the ripples in the water when you throw a stone into it.
—Christine

When we learn our language, we peel away layers,
skins, and we anchor ourselves in the source of who we are, in our identity.
—Isabelle

Connecting with the Wendat language, it’s connecting with nature,
becoming aware of it, and taking care of it.
—Catherine

I see each new learning of the Wendat language as a key that opens the door
to an infinite world of possibilities and questions.
—Sandrine

To do this, I chose to embark on a multidisciplinary creation in dance, singing, and theater. I grew up in the world of musical theater and I am professionally trained as a contemporary dancer. Over the years, I have continued to train and learn several dance styles: an introduction to three styles of pow-wow dance and advanced training in jazz, contemporary dance, and musical theater. Can these worlds coexist? Do some codes converge? What influences can dance together or what values clash? I strongly wish to bring together these mediums and cultures to create a unique yet accessible form of expression.

teyiatatrechronhk
te-ki-atat-hrek-shrǫ-hk
DUPL-3FZ.DU.AGT-REFL-push-DISTR-HAB

aye’ndiyonhra’yeh
wake-ʔnikǫhr-aʔ=keh
1SG.PAT-mind-NSF=LOC

« 2 pensées différentes s’entrepoussent, se combattent
dans mon esprit » ‘two different thoughts are pushing each
other, fighting each other in my mind’ (Potier 1751:338)

The elaboration of verbal structure: Wendat (Huron) verb
morphology by Megan Elizabeth Lukaniec

Teyiatatrechronhk aye’ndiyonhra’yeh

I invite you to peacefully follow my process. Read my questions, my doubts, and follow my encounters as the creation unfolds.

Biography

Catherine Dagenais-Savard is a Wendat and Quebecois dance artist. Since her graduation from the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2015, she has danced for choreographers Ivanie Aubin-Malo, Danièle Desnoyers, Mélanie Demers, Aïcha Bastien-N’diaye, and Marie Chouinard. She was part of the cast of the play Marguerite: le feu by Émilie Monnet, presented at the Avignon Festival in France in 2023, and the musical Tootsie presented at Espace St-Denis in 2024-2025.

In parallel to her career as a performer, Catherine is a choreographer and dance teacher. She also works for the cultural and linguistic sector of her community in Wendake.

Over the years, she continues to train and learn several dance styles: an introduction to three pow-wow dance styles and advanced training in jazz, contemporary dance, and musical theater.

In 2025, Catherine Dagenais-Savard will celebrate ten years as a professional in the field of dance. In recent years, she has received numerous choreographic commission proposals, but has never taken the time to create her own works. Having been a performer for several renowned choreographers in contemporary and indigenous dance, she now wishes to develop a personal artistic approach through the residency.