Cottagers & Indians

Cottagers and Indians, written by Drew Hayden Taylor, explores the politics and issues surrounding a real-life event still occurring in the Kawartha Lakes region of Central Ontario. An Indigenous man, Arthur Copper, has taken it upon himself to repopulate the nearby lakes with wild rice, known amongst the Anishnawbe as Manoomin, much to the disapproval of the local non-Indigenous cottagers – Maureen Poole, in particular.

Drew Hayden Taylor’s 32nd play is a powerful dramatization of contemporary confrontations taking place between environmentalism and consumerism, Indigenous and non-Indigenous sensibilities.

The production deliberately resists reducing the characters into opposing sides, resisting the urge to flatten people into simple positions or assumptions. Arthur and Maureen both genuinely believe they are protecting something important, and the play becomes far more interesting once audiences realize neither character exists as a caricature.

This idea shaped many of the production choices, including casting. Janet Reyes, who plays Maureen Poole, is Filipino, and this choice became an important part of the conversation inside the rehearsal room. It complicates assumptions audiences may unconsciously bring into the theatre about identity, belonging, and who they expect to occupy certain positions within conversations surrounding land, community, and responsibility. Rather than encouraging audiences to comfortably choose a side, this production has been built to make audiences question why they instinctively align where they do in the first place.

Directed by Sha’tekayenton Brant. Stage Manager: David York. Starring Wihse Green as Arthur Copper and Janet Reyes as Maureen Poole.

This is the inaugural production presented by Sewatokwà:tshera’ Theatre, an initiative of the One Dish Project. Evening performances June 10-13 and 17-19, 2026, and a matinee performance on June 20, 2026. Get your tickets here.

Tyendinaga Mohawk Community Centre, 1807 York Road, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

About the One Dish Project

The One Dish Project fosters health, well-being, and community building through cultural food practices, land-based education, professional learning presentations and workshops, as well as the performing arts through Sewatokwa:tshera’ Theatre. The foundations and principles of this Kanyen’keha:ka led initiative is based in Kayanere’kowa, Kahswentha, and Sewatokwa:tshera’ (Great Law of Peace, Two Row, and One Dish One Spoon Wampum).

Sewatokwà:tshera’ Theatre was established in Kenhte:ke (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory) to expand the already flourishing arts community on the territory. This program allows Indigenous people to tell their own stories on Indigenous land while providing access to professional-quality performing arts. The emergence of Sewatokwà:tshera’ Theatre happened naturally through the work already being done through One Dish Project. So much of the Project’s work centres around relationship, storytelling, land, governance, food sovereignty, and the question of how people exist together responsibly within shared spaces.

In a theatre, people sit together and experience tension, humour, discomfort, silence, and conflict together. For a few hours, strangers occupy the same space and are asked to remain present with one another.

About Drew Hayden Taylor

An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario, Drew Hayden Taylor has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy to being Artistic Director of Canada’s Native Earth Performing Arts. An award-winning playwright, journalist/columnist, short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter, he has also worked on numerous documentaries exploring the Indigenous experience.