Inheritance is an interactive play that allows readers to choose how scenes play out. This suspenseful drama involves Abbey, a Settler/immigrant, and her Settler partner, Noah, who arrive at her father’s estate to find a Secwépemc man, Frank, staying in the cabin with her father nowhere in sight. Finding that the rights to the estate could go to Frank, who looks to stewardship the land, or the daughter, whose plan it is to develop the property, the three characters search through the estate lands for the deed and rights to the land. This book demonstrates an enjoyable and humorous means to express issues of colonialism, reconciliation, and the contrast between concepts of colonial land ownership and Indigenous connections to ancestral lands. The authors wrote and performed the live play in 2020 in Vancouver and were finalists for the 2022 Governor General’s Literacy Award for Drama and the 2020 Jessie for Significant Artist Achievement.

Other End Matter: Interview with Creators, Study Guide, and Short History of the Secwépemc People and Their Territory
Contributor Affiliation: Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis (Secwépemc), and Medina Hahn
Bibliography: Yes
Index: No

Source: Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

DANIEL ARNOLD (Ukrainian/Scottish ancestry) and MEDINA HAHN (Lebanese/Irish ancestry) co-wrote/performed the award-winning plays Tuesdays & Sundays and Any Night, both of which were published in Canada and USA and toured to places such as Canada’s National Arts Centre, Edinburgh, Prague, New Mexico, and New York. Tuesdays & Sundays was also a radio play on CBC and BBC, and their screenplay of Any Night won the CFF Super Channel Screenplay Award. They are the protégé recipients of Canada’s largest theatre award, The Siminovitch Prize.

Daniel Arnold's profile page

DANIEL ARNOLD (Ukrainian/Scottish ancestry) and MEDINA HAHN (Lebanese/Irish ancestry) co-wrote/performed the award-winning plays Tuesdays & Sundays and Any Night, both of which were published in Canada and USA and toured to places such as Canada’s National Arts Centre, Edinburgh, Prague, New Mexico, and New York. Tuesdays & Sundays was also a radio play on CBC and BBC, and their screenplay of Any Night won the CFF Super Channel Screenplay Award. They are the protégé recipients of Canada’s largest theatre award, The Siminovitch Prize.

Medina Hahn's profile page

Darrell Dennis is a playwright, broadcaster, actor and comedian. His one-man show Tales of an Urban Indian was nominated for two Dora Awards and was produced for multiple tours across North America. His feature film adaptation of Tales was one of thirteen international screenplays accepted to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. He is also known for his role in two CBC TV series; he played Frank Fencepost on The Rez, and Brian Potter on Northwood. Dennis also co-wrote and hosted the groundbreaking CBC Radio program Revision Quest, which ran for four seasons and won the prestigious New York Festival Award. As a comedian, he has performed in televised galas at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival. Dennis currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Darrell Dennis' profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama

"Inheritance is what theatre should be. It breaks boundaries, embraces new technology … It is excellent. It should be required viewing. See it, ask questions, and enjoy the beauty of these incredible artists along the way." —Vancouver Presents

"The creative team is definitely onto something … digs into land claims and entitlement in engaging new ways, using a lively mix of humour and interactive technology to work through heavy concepts. Viewers go out into the night with the knowledge that land issues will never be solved with an easy click of the button. And more importantly, with plenty to think about their own role in the matter."
—the Georgia Straight