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I'll Call You: was a long distance communicational performance I made in 2007. This performance was realized as part of the exhibition "Art After Aesthetic Distance' curated by Jennifer Delos Reyes at the university of Regina, in Canada. Developing empathy with people found in the online telephone book of Saskatchewan, Canada. I made a friend by the telephone. She accepted to go instead of me to the performance event to which I was invited.

Performative Connections With Real Life Consequences:

"I'll Call You" was a two week long performance realized between the countries

of the USA and Canada. It consisted of telephone calls made from a phone in

Miami to several telephone numbers from the Saskatchewan online telephone

book.

In order to realize this performance I started studying the history of Saskatchewan.

In this way I learned about the history of the First Nations People. This brought me

to look for information about prominent First Nations People within Saskatchewan.

I learned about the singer Tom Jackson, and few politicians like Jimmy Sinclair,

among others. I dialed several telephone numbers within Saskatchewan, including

many telephone numbers from several First Nations People's reservations.

Due to the warmer response coming from the First Nations People I contacted

by the telephone, I continued calling them. I was interested in creating a situation

different than the ordinary and that could allow an exchange of ideas, of

information, and a real life cultural interaction between the person on the other

side of the line and myself. I also left telephone messages on answering

machines. I was interested in relating to the other person's culture. I read the

lyrics of Tom Jackson's songs as part of these messages. I wanted to

shared what had impacted me while learning about their culture. When I found

people willing to hear about my own culture I explained about the history of Peru,

its people, its geography, and its different cultural expressions. I also asked

questions about their own history.

There was real communication, as we exchanged experiences on both sides.

An extremely important aspect in this performance was my own awareness

about an ethical responsibility that implied a respectful and sincere approach to

the other person on the line. I was extremely fortunate because of the amount of

trust I encountered and because of the generosity of the other people sharing

their time and their life experiences with me.

This experience was extremely moving for me because it allowed me to have a

different understanding of the First Nations history. Factual statistical information

learned through my readings on their history, became individualized and

emotive information through the personal life anecdotes that were shared with

me. Thanks to this generous trust in sharing these experiences with me I was

able to better understand the real psychological implications, the sociological

impact and consequences of the politics involved in the negotiations between

Canada and the First Nations People through their treaties.

Thus, I could learn many details about the residential schools and their negative

impact on the First Nations People. Their children were separated from their

parents and relatives, forbidden of speaking their own language and of

socializing with their own siblings. When sent back to the reservations they were

already estranged from their own culture. The psychological impact of this was

devastating, pushing many of them to alcoholism.

The lack of contact with their families while growing up also kept them from

receiving their love. Thus, many were unable to express affection and

encountered severe difficulties in socializing even among themselves.

This also meant that they were lacking the capability of appropriate parenting

skills, as they lacked contact with their own parents while growing up. This

terrible psychological impact of the residential schools was reflected in the

development of dysfunctional families. This dysfunction was expressed in a high

level of alcoholism and social disadaptability. This explains many problems

within the youth among the First Nations People. Later on the government

acknowledged the damage inflicted on the First Nations People and their

culture and offered some economical compensations, mainly to those people

that were sexually molested while been children at the residential schools.

Unfortunately these compensations not only came too late in their lives, but they

did not repair the devastating psychological damage they had already suffered.

All these experiences also had a devastating impact in the self-confidence of

many First Nations people. The treaties offered technological agricultural

assistance that was not always delivered by the government. The problems with

the First Nations economy forced many of them to leave the reservations in

search for job opportunities. However, they were never wholly assimilated into

the Canadian society and as a consequence they settled into ghettos in the

suburbs of the cities. Of course there are many First Nations people still living

within the reservations. The First Nations people are working on the preservation

of their cultural expressions and language, as well as strengthening their

families. Building the affection and love that the generations that lived under the

residential schools missed so much.

The problematic aspect of this performance lied in the different ways we (the

other person and myself) experienced it. As an artist I was approaching people

under an artistic criteria, being our cultural exchange an artistic action. But

people on the other side of the line perceived me as a regular person. This

situation also gave the possibility of talking about art, its different definitions and

the ways we understood it. We were engaged in a communication on different

levels, based on trust. I chose to offer my own life experiences, and to open

myself to the point of my own exposed vulnerability.

Because this happened in real life, it presented the possibility of entering into a

real relationship. This of course presented the problems we have in real

relationships. We have to decide how committed we want to become. I found a

real friend, so when this happened, I decided to finish the performance, and to

continue just with life.

My friend honored me by accepting to attend the event, which she later

described to me by the telephone. She traveled for more than one hour from the

reservation where she lives, to participate in an art event and conference. She

also brought a few of her own works since she is a craft artist. My friend is a very

smart open minded person, and traveled so long for a cultural exchange. I want

to especially thank Erin Gee, and Jen Weih for their kindness in welcoming my

friend. Erin and Jen were interested in knowing her and in appreciating part of

the many interesting things my friend has to offer, like her traditional crafts. I

have to add that my friend is also a researcher with a deep knowledge in the

First Nations History from which I am still learning. We are still friends now. We

continue talking by the telephone, and writing letters. I still wonder about her. Her

voice is warm, kind, musical and youthful. She could be 35 years old, but she is

not. I can think that the way we became friends is in a way an oddity. That is why

I said that this is a performance with consequences. If anybody is interested in

learning more about the First Nations People and would like to talk to my friend,

you could e-mail me to tejadaherrera@gmail.com and I will provide you her

phone number and name. Many thanks my friend.

Elena Tejada-Herrera