MEDIA RELEASE

          www.banffcentre.ca/aboriginal_arts

Sleeping Buffalo Mountain, Banff, Alberta – The Aboriginal Arts Program at The Banff Centre is proud to host traditional storyteller Louise Profeit-LeBlanc (Tuchone) at a public storytelling event on Sunday, September 16, 2001. The event will take place in the Rolston Recital Hall at The Banff Centre at 8 p.m. Ms. Profeit-LeBlanc will be on hand as traditional storyteller during the Aboriginal Arts Program’s Writing for Series Television: A Screenwriting Workshop for Aboriginal Storytellers.

Ms. Profeit-LeBlanc is a member of the Nacho N'y Ak Dun First Nation of the Northern Tuchone people of Mayo, Yukon. For Louise, storytelling is about history, community, and is a gift of her culture and heritage. Since she first began to practice the art of storytelling in 1985 at the Yukon Frostbite Festival, Louise has spent a great deal of time learning the stories from elders, and has travelled extensively throughout the world sharing them.

Louise feels indebted to those who have gone on, their voices now quiet, and states that she makes it her business " to share their stories, which not only teach us about our rich past, but also provide us with the tools required for this generation to go forward with this wisdom and strength, through being able to access this knowledge." The stories, to her, are "life lessons."

Louise has undertaken extensive research into the oral tradition of her people. Her commitment to storytelling extends far beyond her love of telling. She is a strong advocate for the development of First Nations arts and has played a vital role in the founding of the Yukon International Storytelling Festival (1987) and SYANA (the Society of Yukon Artists of Native Ancestry). SYANA was established to ensure that the oral, literary, performing and visual art forms of the First Nations people of the Yukon are promoted, and courses are made available for those who wish to learn them.

Louise is also an accomplished poet, lecturer, visual artist, and cultural liason. As a First Nations heritage advisor for the Yukon Government, one of her responsibilities is to work with communities to ensure they are able to record and transcribe their own stories and histories.

Writing for Series Television: A Screenwriting Workshop for Aboriginal Storytellers is held at The Banff Centre in partnership with the 2001 Cancom Ross Charles Awards and the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network (APTN). The workshop is in two phases—the first is held from September 9 – 29, 2001. Phase II will occur over two weeks from March 17- 31, 2002.

Visit our Web site for up-to-date event information at http://www.banffcentre.ca/aboriginal_arts

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