The Rez Sisters

Pelajia (53 years old) is the eldest of the seven sisters in the play. Highway gives her the first and last lines, demonstrating the importance of elders in his Indigenous community. There is a large shift in her opinion of the reserve from the beginning of the play and the end. She starts the play by saying, “I want to go to Toronto” and repeats this line several times in the first scene (2). In the final scene of the play, Philomena asks her, “Still thinking about packing your bags and shipping off to Toronto?” and Pelajia answers, “I’m not so sure” (117). The loss of Marie-Adele and the experience of going to Toronto for the bingo game and staying with her son there change Pelajia’s mind, demonstrating her transformation as a character.

In addition to being the eldest sister, Pelajia is described as the most masculine. Her pants and hammer are mentioned many times throughout the play, both explicitly categorized as male and implied to be masculine. Stage directions introduce her at the beginning of Act I as “nailing shingles” and wearing “faded blue denim men’s cover-alls” (1). In Act II, Pelajia brings her hammer to Marie-Adele’s grave. During Marie-Adele’s funeral, Pelajia says she’ll see her “when that big bird finally comes for me […] And my hammer” (105).