Extra-Rational Indigenous Performance: Dear John; Louis David Riel

The author reflects on his performances of Dear John; Louis David Riel, in which the spirit of Louis Riel confronts statues of John A. Macdonald in Regina, Kingston, and Ottawa. Normally a studio artist and writer, Garneau examines how political necessity and a performative intuition drove him from his preferred media and into one more effective in generating empathy and public discussion. The article also discusses how identifying and performing as an Indigenous artist means being attached to an aesthetic and political genealogy as well as certain responsibilities.