This film is a musing on my life and the connection to the land I inherited from a beloved uncle. Notions of my Nishnaabeg and Irish identities are interwoven in the image and soundtrack. This land “settled” and cultivated by my Irish ancestors was also stolen from my Nishnaabeg ancestors. An instrumental version of the Cole Porter song, Don’t Fence Me In, speaks to the reclamation of the geographic space I now inhabit, land I’ve been dancing walking, falling, and rolling on since I was a child.
Patti Shaughnessy works locally, nationally, and internationally as a curator, director, performer, and artistic producer. Patti is Mchi Saagig Nishnaabe from Curve Lake First Nation #35, and a descendent of Irish settlers who found home in the Peterborough region circa 1825. At her home in Douro, ON, she grows food, flowers and herbs.
Credits
Performer and Director: Patti Shaughnessy
Camera and Editing: Wayne Eardley
Music (Don’t Fence Me In) written by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher
Music interpreted and performed by Charlie “Chickenhawk” Glasspool
Filmed on Mchi Saagig Nishnaabeg territory in Douro, ON.
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