SKeN:NEN

Set in 2050, post environmental catastrophe. An auntie and her niece flee from Six Nations to the Eastern Door, their Kahnyen’kehàka homelands high in the Adirondack mountains, upper state New York. Escaping rising and virus filled waters, they take refuge at a whispered about community bunker camp; condoling with the land and re-aligning to the newly shifted Earth. Climate survivors arrive at the camp: a feral wolf-like womxn who journeys from the South through portals and fire; a New York City architect who wanders blindly into the area. For the newcomers to be accepted into the camp they must first accept Kayaneren’kó:wa/ the Great Good, and the help to re-establish a matrilineal system. The developing cohesion of the fledging community is interrupted by a lurking survivor: a young Onkwehon:we dark web hacker who is desperately trying to re-establish digital connections. His welcome into the group is short lived, as it’s revealed he holds a sickness that will threaten their establishing peace.

The narrative weaves Onkwehon:we philosophy and concepts about the establishment of Kayaneren’kó:wa/ the Great Good (also known as the Great Law); the role of Konnonkwehon:we (womxn) represented by Tsikónhsase, the first person to accept skén:nen and harmony, she worked with the Peacemaker to unify the original five Onkwehon:we Nations during turbulent times; the role of Tadodarho (also known as Adodarho) changing his mind from war to peace; rites of passage; the adoption process of accepting outsiders into a community to replace lost members. The ancestral mission to restore love, peace and harmony back to the people is mirrored in SKéN:NEN as the characters build a camp in a post-apocalyptic times. They struggle with lost, unsteady ground and emotions.

This multimedia, site-specific, intercultural, intergenerational and audience immersive performance culminates Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s triptych rematriation series: Re-Quickening, Blood Tides and Skén:nen.