The Rez Sisters is a powerful play that focuses on the lives of seven Indigenous women living on a First Nations reserve in Canada. Blending harsh reality with humour and spirituality, the play explores their struggles, dreams, and resilience.
INTRODUCTION
The Rez Sisters is a two-act play written by Tomson Highway, a Canadian writer from the Cree community. It was first performed on November 26, 1986, by Act IV Theatre Company and Native Earth Performing Arts. The play is partly inspired by Michel Tremblay’s play Les Belles-sœurs. It explores the hopes and dreams of seven women living on the fictional Wasaychigan Hill Indian reserve. Highway presents women characters in a sympathetic and gentle way, though the play remains gritty and realistic. This play is the first in the unfinished series of seven plays called the Rez Septology. It has a flip-side play titled Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing (1989), which was initially titled The Rez Brothers. The play has an ensemble cast of seven women who work together to raise money to attend “The Biggest Bingo in the World.” There is one male actor/dancer in the play who plays Nanabush, a spiritual figure from Indigenous culture. This role was originally played by René Highway, the playwright’s brother. The play blends the harsh realities of life on a First Nation reserve with humour and Aboriginal spirituality. Some of the dialogue is written in Cree and Ojibway. In 2010, Highway staged Iskooniguni Iskweewuk, a Cree-language version of The Rez Sisters.
TITLE OF THE PLAY
The word “Rez” is a short form of the word “reservation.” In The Rez Sisters, it refers to an Indigenous or First Nations reserve in Canada, a piece of land set aside by the government for Indigenous communities to live on. Life on the rez represents both community and hardship. It is a place where people share strong cultural bonds, traditions, and humour, but it is also marked by poverty, unemployment, and limited opportunities. Therefore, the title “The Rez Sisters” refers to the women who live on the reservation. They are called “sisters” not by blood alone, but in spirit, connected through their shared lives, struggles, and experiences on the rez.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Pelajia Patchnose
Pelajia’s sons live in Toronto, her husband lives in Espanola, and her mother is dead. She works as a contractor. She is the sister of Philomena and the half-sister of Marie-Adele, Annie, and Emily. Her main problem is that she feels trapped on the reserve, a place she has grown to hate. In the end, she is still stuck on the reserve, but she becomes more understanding and even thinks about becoming the chief.
Philomena Moosetail
Philomena had an affair in Toronto and gave up her child for adoption without ever seeing the baby. Her mother is dead. She is Pelajia’s sister and the half-sister of Marie-Adele, Annie, and Emily. Her pain comes from being abandoned by her lover and never knowing whether her child was a boy or a girl. At the end, she wins $600 at bingo and buys a porcelain toilet bowl, but she still remains trapped on the reserve.
Marie-Adele Starblanket
Marie-Adele stole Eugene from her sister Annie and has fourteen children. She is the sister of Annie and Emily, and the half-sister of Pelajia and Philomena. She suffers from terminal cancer and fears that Eugene’s drinking will worsen and that her children will be sent to foster care. Her fate is tragic. She dies during bingo and dances with Nanabush at the moment of death.
Annie Cook
Annie has a daughter named Ellen, who lives with Raymond in Sudbury. She is the sister of Marie-Adele and Emily, and the half-sister of Pelajia and Philomena. Her deepest hurt is losing her lover Eugene to her sister Marie-Adele. In the end, she becomes a backup singer for Fritz the Katz at Little Current, moves closer to her dream, and wishes to become a Jewish princess.
Emily Dictionary
Emily works in a store and was once a member of a biker gang. Her lover Rosie committed suicide, and her abusive husband once tried to kill her. She is the sister of Marie-Adele and Annie, and the half-sister of Pelajia and Philomena. Her suffering comes from abandoning her children and grieving Rosie’s death. At the end, she returns to working at the store, but she is pregnant with Big Joey’s baby.
Veronique St. Pierre
Veronique adopted Zhaboonigan along with her husband, Pierre. She is disliked by most of the women, and her husband wastes money on alcohol. In the end, she gets a new stove and cooks for Eugene, who is now a widower, and his children.
Zhaboonigan Peterson
Zhaboonigan is mentally challenged, and her parents died in a car accident. She was adopted by Veronique and Pierre. She suffered severe trauma after being sexually abused with a screwdriver by two white men and is often teased by others. By the end of the play, she learns to trust Emily and helps her at the store.
THE PLAY
The play opens with Pelajia Patchnose standing on the roof of her house on the Wasaychigan Hill Reserve on Manitoulin Island, fixing shingles. She dreams of leaving the reserve and living elsewhere. Her sister Philomena sharply replies that Pelajia was born there and says, “All your poop’s on this reserve,” reminding her that she is deeply tied to the place.
Annie Cook soon joins them and talks about a package she is expecting. Nearby, Marie-Adele plays gently with Zhaboonigan, while Nanabush, appearing as a seagull, silently watches them. It is then revealed that Marie-Adele is suffering from cancer. At the same time, Veronique feels insecure because she does not have biological children of her own.
As the play progresses, tensions among the sisters come to the surface. Old wounds related to shared lovers and stolen husbands resurface, creating emotional conflict. Soon, rumours spread about THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD, and the women became extremely excited at the possibility of attending it.
At Emily’s store, arguments break out. During this time, Zhaboonigan painfully tells Nanabush about the rape she suffered, and Nanabush reacts with intense physical pain, showing shared suffering. When the news of the bingo is confirmed, the women forget their differences and unite with a common goal. They decide to go to Toronto to attend the bingo.
The women work together to raise money, borrow a van, and begin their journey. On the way, they face problems such as a flat tyre. Marie-Adele collapses during the trip and encounters Nanabush again, this time in the form of a nighthawk.
During their journey, the women share personal stories. Emily talks about the death of her lover, while Marie-Adele speaks about her fear of dying and leaving her children behind. At the bingo hall, Nanabush appears as the bingo master, drawing the audience into the game.
Marie-Adele dies during the bingo, while the others lose the game. When the women return to Wasaychigan Hill, life continues much the same. Philomena wins $600, buys a new toilet, but despite this small change, their overall lives on the reserve remain unchanged.
NANABUSH
Nanabush is a very important figure in Native culture, as central to the Native world as Christ is to Christianity. Nanabush is dual-gendered and appears in different forms that show both joy and pain. Nanabush plays happily with Marie-Adele and Zhaboonigan, but also shows deep anguish during moments of rape, fights, and death. Nanabush is mainly seen by Marie-Adele, who is close to death, and by Zhaboonigan, who is mentally challenged. This shows that Nanabush is visible to those who are spiritually vulnerable or closer to the edge of life. Overall, Nanabush represents a deity who exists on the margins of the community, symbolising the cycle of life and death.
THE RAPE/ SCREWDRIVER EPISODE
The rape of Zhaboonigan closely parallels the real-life 1971 murder of Helen Betty Osborne. Helen Betty Osborne was a 19-year-old high school student from the Norway House Indian Reserve. She was abducted and brutally murdered near The Pas, Manitoba, in the early hours of November 13, 1971. Even though there was strong evidence, the suspects were not charged until 1987, which was after the play was first performed. Through Zhaboonigan’s suffering, the play symbolises the injustice, violence, and delayed justice faced by Indigenous women, making her a powerful representation of Helen Betty Osborne’s tragic story.
MAJOR THEMES
The play presents an authentic representation of Indigenous struggles such as poverty, violence, and trauma. These problems are shown honestly through the daily lives of the characters, without exaggeration or romanticising their suffering. It also shows linguistic richness and cultural celebration. The play uses Cree and Ojibway languages, along with strong rhythms and conversational, everyday speech. The language is not standardised, which makes the characters sound real and rooted in their community.
The characters are multi-dimensional, each having their own fears, dreams, and desires. Their stories are closely connected. Importantly, the play does not idealise femininity; the women are shown as complex human beings rather than traditional feminine stereotypes. Another major theme is the blend of realism and magic realism. While the play deals with harsh realities, it also includes spiritual elements, dreams, and the presence of Nanabush, which connects everyday life with Indigenous belief systems.
The play strongly highlights the resilience of Indigenous women. Despite hardship, violence, and loss, the women survive through humour, inner strength, and community spirit.
MAJOR SYMBOLS
Pelajia’s hammer is an important symbol in the play. It represents hard work and daily toil. It also shows aggression and anger, especially Pelajia’s frustration with life on the reserve. As the play progresses, the hammer begins to symbolise leadership and a sense of purpose, suggesting Pelajia’s growing responsibility to her community. The Bingo dream represents the women’s shared desire to escape the complexities of their lives on the reserve. It represents hope, positivity, and optimism, giving the women something to look forward to and believe in, even if that hope is temporary.
Nanabush symbolises spirituality, disruption, and guidance. Nanabush is not shown as a saviour, but as an omnipotent presence that exists alongside the characters, influencing events and reflecting the spiritual world of Indigenous belief systems. The Windigo symbolises destructive forces, especially violence, greed, and trauma that harm individuals and communities. It represents the dark side of human behaviour and historical suffering. The car is a symbol of freedom and possibility. It suggests movement, escape, and the chance to go beyond the limits of the reserve.
FEMINIST READING
A feminist reading of the play highlights intersectionality, showing that the women suffer oppression both because they are Indigenous and because they are women. Their struggles cannot be understood through gender alone; race, culture, and history also shape their lives. The play offers a strong representation of Indigenous womanhood. The women are shown in a nuanced and realistic way, with strengths, flaws, humour, and pain. They are not stereotypes but fully developed individuals. Economic struggle is another important feminist concern. Most of the women live in financial hardship, which limits their choices and freedom. The play shows the need for economic empowerment as a way for women to gain dignity and independence.
The theme of domestic violence is present in the play, showing the harsh realities women face. However, the play also highlights sisterhood, where women support, protect, and sustain one another emotionally despite violence and suffering. Traditional gender roles are challenged throughout the play. The women refuse to behave according to fixed expectations and reject stereotypes about how women should think, act, or live. The play also addresses sexuality and autonomy. Through Emily’s lesbian relationship, the play affirms a woman’s right to choose her sexuality and assert control over her own body and desires.
Spirituality and femininity are explored through Nanabush, whose dual-gendered presence challenges rigid ideas of gender and feminine norms, suggesting a more fluid understanding of identity. Finally, the women’s dreams and aspirations are central to the feminist reading. The bingo trip becomes a symbol of self-improvement and independence, representing the women’s hope to change their lives through their own efforts rather than depending on others.
AS A REPRESENTATIVE PIECE OF CANADIAN LITERATURE
The Rez Sisters is an important work in Canadian literature because it gives space to Indigenous voices that are authentic, diverse, and nuanced. The play allows Indigenous women to speak for themselves rather than be talked about by others. The play strongly reflects cultural identity through the use of the Cree language, traditions, and Indigenous heritage. These elements show the richness of Indigenous culture and its importance in Canadian society. It also presents social realism and history by showing real issues such as poverty, colonisation, and systemic injustice faced by Indigenous communities. The play does not hide these harsh truths, making it socially and historically significant.
Alongside realism, the play employs magic realism and spirituality. Through figures like Nanabush, Indigenous mythology and spiritual belief systems are woven into everyday life, showing how different worlds are interconnected. The play offers a strong critique of colonialism. It highlights the loss of land, cultural suppression, and broken traditions caused by colonial rule, showing its lasting impact on Indigenous lives.
It also brings out the intersectionality of issues faced by Indigenous women, including gender discrimination, violence, trauma, and resilience. These problems overlap and shape their lived experiences. Despite suffering and hardship, the play celebrates resilience. The women survive through strength, humour, and community spirit, showing hope even in difficult conditions. Overall, The Rez Sisters makes a major contribution to Canadian literature. It helps foster reconciliation, challenges dominant narratives, and expands the idea of Canadian literary identity by placing Indigenous stories at its centre.
Tomson Highway. The Rez Sisters. Fifth House Publishers, 1988.
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. “The Rez Sisters.” Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, www.canadiantheatre.com.
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
Discover more from ashlit.in
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Comment on “THE REZ SISTERS : THEATRE AND NATIVE VOICES”