Canadian Crossing

Canadian film review: Edge of the Knife

The journey to Edge of the Knife | SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna starts with Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, a documentary I saw in the 2015 Windsor International Film Festival.

"The scenery is amazing and well worth the price of watching, but you get a cool story about a place that is Canadian and aboriginal with majestic beauty."

I didn't even know about Haida Gwaii before the documentary. Haida Gwaii is an archipelago near Prince Rupert and Terrace in British Columbia. You might know Haida Gwaii by the settler name Queen Charlotte Islands.

The exciting part of Edge of the Knife | SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna was the idea of an entire film in the Haida language. Like a lot of Indigenous languages, the Haida language is in trouble of becoming irrelevant.

The film takes place in the 19th century. One family has traveled over to the island of Haida Gwaii for the summer. We meet Gaas, a young boy with the family on the island. Kwa, father of Gaas, and Adiitsʹii are best friends.

One morning, Kwa can't find Gaas. Kwa finds out Adiitsʹii went off with Gaas. Kwa looks for Gaas and discovers that the boy has died.

Adiitsʹii is missing. He turns into Gaagiixiid, a supernatural being who is ravenous. The villagers go and look for Gaagiixiid to turn the being back into Adiitsʹii. Kwa is also angry over Adiitsʹii, feeling that he is responsible for his son's death.

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The cast had to learn the Haida language. The words are spoken in a cadence that feels like they are almost speaking phonetically.

After the death of Gaas, there are a lot fewer words in the story. The transformation of Gaagiixiid is essentially noises and eating.

The film is more about the language and the scenery than the story but understanding the relevance of the story is important as well.

Edge of the Knife | SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna won Best Canadian Film and Most Popular Canadian Feature at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival. The film placed in the TIFF Top 10 Canadian films of 2018.

Edge of the Knife | SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna is available in Canada on Crave.

video credit: YouTube/TIFF Trailers
photo credit: Edge of the Knife | SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna film

Inuk leader Mary Simon will be Canada's first Indigenous governor general

We noted last week in our Canada Day notebook that many were wondering whether Canada might get its first Indigenous governor general. Well, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Mary Simon will be the next governor general.

Simon had been the Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs (aka Arctic) from 1994-2009 and also Canadian Ambassador to Denmark from 1999-2002.

Simon was a senior Inuit negotiator for the Canadian Constitution repatriation. She helped negotiate the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975. Simon is a past president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Simon has also been a producer and announcer for CBC North.

"Because as the Queen's representative in Canada, I am very concerned about the circumstances that lead to some of the events that we are seeing today. I do understand as an Indigenous person that there is pain and suffering across our nation," Simon said about being the first Indigenous governor general. "When I was asked whether I would take on this important role, I was very excited and I felt that this was a position that would help Canadians together with Indigenous Peoples."

Simon is bilingual in that she speaks Inuktitut and English but not French. She noted that she had been denied the opportunity to learn French while attending a federal day school in Quebec. Simon is taking French lessons to work on her French.

One of the issues with Indigenous people being on the Supreme Court is the requirement to be fluent in English and French.

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Simon will take over for Canada Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner, who has been filling the role since late January when Julie Payette finally resigned after a series of scandals and incidents.

This has been the longest gap by far between governor generals in Canadian history. Simon will be the the 30th governor general, only the 13th Canadian in the role (1952-present).

Having a permanent governor general in the role is most helpful if there is a fall federal election.

photo and video credit: Global News

Canada Day 2021: A time for reflection and some celebration

Canada Day 2021 is about remembrance for those who suffered in the residential school system. Canada Day is multilayered in a time where John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, is remembered as the architect of the residential school system.

215 children at a Kamloops residential school was horrible enough. 751 is a number better suited for career home runs than unmarked graves of Indigenous children and perhaps adults; that is the number from the Marieval Indian Residential School, about 140 kilometres east of Regina, Saskatchewan on the Cowessess First Nation territory.

The newest discovery was 182 human remains in unmarked graves by the Lower Kootenay Band in British Columbia near Cranbrook.

Victoria (BC), Penticton (BC), Churchill (MB) and La Ronge (SK) are among Canadian cities not having Canada Day festivities in 2021.

This is the 154th anniversary of the founding of the Dominion of Canada with Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The day was called Dominion Day until 1982. A lot of Canadians will celebrate Canada Day with fireworks and food; a bit of acknowledgment about the horrors of the residential school system is a very small favour to ask.

Orange has become the colour of choice to wear to reflect on the lost souls at these residential schools. Canada's colours are red and white, but orange is the colour of Canada Day 2021.

The Indian Residential School Survivors and Family organisation has a 24-hour crisis line at (866) 925-4419.

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

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Canada Day 2021 is also about celebrations, especially with not having them in 2020. There is a lot of pent-up frustration given the COVID-19 pandemic. The last numbers I saw had Canada at 75% for the first dose but 23% for the second dose. The next 8 weeks speaks a lot about getting that second number higher.

Protests along the border of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were in reaction to loosening of travel restrictions followed by a quick reversal. Nova Scotia announced that travelers from New Brunswick will have to self-isolate upon arrival. This news came fewer than 24 hours after the province opened its borders with Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and Labrador without isolation or testing requirements. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin said the reversal came because New Brunswick opened its borders to Canadian travelers from outside the Atlantic region.

The Atlantic travel bubble was a lot better organised in 2020.

As for the national border with the United States, we still have no movement on when or how the border will reopen. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had mentioned a 75% fully immunized vaccine rate. While Canada shines on the world stage for first doses, the country is further behind the curve on fully immunized. Family, friends, and basic cross-border travel are waiting, perhaps, impatiently.

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Those in Western Canada are feeling the effects of the climate crisis. The heat is literally record-setting with Lytton, BC breaking the record Sunday with 46.6°C, according to Environment Canada. That was followed by new records 47.9°C (Monday) and 49.5°C (Tuesday). The town was literally on fire on Wednesday.

The previous record high temperature for the country was 45°C, set in Saskatchewan in July 1937.

The high in Vancouver, which conditions are normally cooler than the interior, on Monday was 41°C. Vancouver has been dealing with a lot of heat-related deaths.

For our American readers, factor that the normal body temperature of 98.6°F is 37°C. The Vancouver figure of 41°C works out to 105°F and the Lytton mark of 46.6°C works out to be 116°F. 49.5°C works out to 121°F.

Nahanni Butte, N.W.T. hit 38.1°C on Monday, a record for that region.

These numbers don't factor in the humidex (heat index in the U.S.).

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July 1 is more about moving apartments, especially in Montréal, in Quebec than celebrating Canada Day. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is the "equivalent" for the Quebecois.

One Quebec element that has most of Canada united is the Montréal Canadiens in the middle of the Stanley Cup final against Tampa Bay. The series is at 0-2 with the Habs only scoring 2 goals in 2 games. The teams are not playing on Canada Day or July 4. The 2020 NHL playoffs didn't start until August; in non-pandemic years, the season is long done before Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.

Canada Day normally marks the opening of the NHL free agency season.

Newfoundland honours July 1 as Memorial Day for the extensive losses of about 700 soldiers at Beaumont-Hamel in 1916 during World War I.

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The Toronto Blue Jays are playing the Seattle Mariners on Canada Day in Buffalo, NY. The Blue Jays "home" game is a reminder that the MLB and MLS franchises are trapped within the United States waiting to play home games in their home cities and country.

The border opening and government approval might mean 2022 is the time they will shine on Canadian soil.

We thought MLB Network would pick up the Canada Day broadcast but we were sadly wrong. Canadians can watch on Rogers Sportsnet.

This also marks the second straight Canada Day without the CFL. August 5 is the designated day to start the 2021 CFL season. The federal government did agree to reduce the quarantine to 7 days for incoming American players.

Making the case for Canadian film in 3 parts

Bill C-10 gets to wait out the summer trapped in the Senate. The bill to update the Broadcasting Act passed the House but the Senate didn't have a whole lot of time to look over the fine details. 

There is a lot to like about Bill C-10 in having streaming services that operate in Canada ("Netflix tax") help fund Canadian television and Canadian film, just like Canadian companies. What has been a stickler in the process is the uncertainty of average people who make some money off of YouTube, for example, also paying into the process.

There are 2 thought processes: 1) the Conservatives are making a huge fuss and the bill doesn't go that far; or 2) the bill does go that far.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has done a terrible job at addressing the issue. The removal of Section 4(1) in April started the furor against the bill.

Mélanie Joly, who was Heritage Minister from 2015-2018 and is the current Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, seemed to have a better understanding of what needed to be done. Then again, the dynamic clearly has changed with Bill C-10.

The Broadcasting Act needs to be updated. That update shouldn't give broad powers to the CRTC to regulate the Internet.

The Senate and its committees would take up the bill starting the week of September 21, well, unless, the pundits are finally right and an election is called. Any legislation in limbo during an election would have to start from scratch.

We will go into more detail next week.

Mahmud Jamal would be Canada's first Supreme Court justice of colour

Today is the 75th birthday for former Canada Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella, whose retirement starts today. As we noted, the selection of Mahmud Jamal to replace Abella will be historical.

Matt Galloway from The Current on CBC Radio One did an outstanding interview with Abella looking back on her life and career.

Supreme Court justices and federal senators are required to step down when they reach 75.

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We noted on Victoria Day that Canada doesn't have a permanent Governor General and the United States doesn't have a permanent U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Still true on Canada Day.

The Trudeau Government has no control over the latter but can deal with the former. The political pundits are howling for a fall election. Having a permanent Governor General is a smart idea heading into a potential election. As we noted, "Canada Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner has been the acting governor general since January. Wagner is the head of Canada’s judicial, executive and legislative branches of government. That scenario should be tenuous at best, especially with a minority government." Still true.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did meet with Queen Elizabeth II at the G7 in Cornwall, UK last month. Technically, the Governor General pick needs the consent of the queen.

CBC Radio's The House is one of many who ask whether Canada should have an Indigenous governor general.

photo credit: CTV Vancouver

Canadian films that might explain a bit about the world of residential schools

The painful reality of the remains of 215 children being found at a residential school in Kamloops is only made more painful by knowing this is only the beginning. The recordkeeping is its own scandal. We may never know all of the Indigenous children found on this and other sites.

These were human beings who suffered long before they died, children who couldn't understand a society that wanted to strip them of their language, culture, and being.

My limited education on the matter has been amplified by Canadian films on the subject. Since I write a lot about Canadian films, I thought sharing a couple of good examples might work people who know little to learn a bit more.

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Birth of a Family focuses more on the Sixties Scoop than residential schools. Betty Ann, Esther, Rosalie, and Ben are all siblings who were taken away from their home. The film explains that about 20,000 Indigenous children taken between 1955-1985 were adopted into white families or moved into foster care.

Tasha Hubbard (director and co-writer) and Betty Ann Adams (co-writer) share the joy of the reunion and puts them together in Banff National Park. They share the awful stories of what happened to them as kids. They are still struggling to live as adults as a result of the damage and pain.

I saw this film at the 2017 Windsor International Film Festival. I knew nothing about the Sixties Scoop before the film. From our original review:

There are moments when they are talking alone on camera, sharing moments that they really should be sharing with the other siblings. The idea that these people would learn these moments at the same time the audience does would be quite awkward.

The most powerful moment is when the 4 siblings learn about their culture through the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum in Banff. You get a good sense of what they have lost in that moment. This is the most impactful scene in the film and is worth seeing the film for this scene. There are lighter moments as well: you can see that they have a shared laughter.

As we noted in our review, you don't learn much about the actual Sixties Scoop. You see some of the damage down as a result.

Canadian film review: Indian Horse

I noted in our review that this film is hard to watch. That seems a bit childish in that the people who lived it had a life too brutal to imagine.

Indian Horse is an adaptation of the novel from Canadian writer Richard Wagamese. The story is about Saul Indian Horse, an Indigenous boy from Ontario who is taken from his family and put into the residential school system. Like Birth of a Family, we see the ramifications of the psychological and physical damage.

From our original review:

You get the desolate circumstances for Saul and other Indigenous children over multiple generations. If you know absolutely nothing on this topic, you will get a good sense of what really happened. Indian Horse is a pretty good film, just really difficult to watch. Some of that unpleasantness is the story and also how the story is told.

Indian Horse was actually the highest-grossing English Canadian film of 2018. That is meaningful.

Canadian film review: Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Jeff Barnaby's full-length feature debut Rhymes for Young Ghouls tells how residential schools make a multi-generational impact in a society. The story is also tragic but told so well.

The film is told from the perspective of Alia (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs) in 1976.

From our original review:

Alia recognises from how the residential schools impacted her parents and uncle that she needs to avoid that world at all costs. Her world becomes a way to figure out who and how long she can trust people. The film shows us that survival is not easy.

There is a scene in the film where Alia's braids are cut off. This might seem like a minor detail. The punishment is symbolic since the braids are part of the culture. You sense how violated she is as a result of the scene.

The Secret Path film (2016) was the culmination of a 10-song album and a graphic novel from Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip. The story is about Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to walk 600 kilometres back home from a residential school.

The film starts out with Chanie’s sister Pearl Wenjack and other family members with Downie.

The Secret Path was followed by the Road to Reconciliation panel discussion.

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CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We Were Children tells the true story of Lyna Hart, sent to the Guy Hill Residential School in Manitoba at age 4; and Glen Anaquod, sent to the Lebret Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The film features dramatic reenactments of what happened to them. We have not seen this film.

(Update: We have now seen this film. The sadistic torture of these children: beatings, rape, malnutrition, robbing of their culture.)

Look into the work of Alanis Obomsawin, who has done some amazing Indigenous documentaries over the years, including We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice (2016).

June is National Indigenous History Month. A good opportunity to learn something.

Many of the kids died from TB, malnutrition, and diseases caused by overcrowding of kids and poor health care. The Catholic Church and others who ran these schools didn't want to spend money on the care of these kids.

These films will give you an entrance in this world to give a slice of what this was like. This is certainly not a full list.

A new CBC podcast Telling Our Twisted Histories is the idea to "decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time." Kaniehtiio Horn is the host for the podcast. Worth the listen.

Birth of a Family is available through the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada. Indian Horse is available on Netflix. Rhymes for Young Ghouls was available on Amazon Prime Video. You can watch The Secret Path online. We Were Children is available for rental via the NFB.

Can't help also thinking about the tragic death of Emerald MacDonald. You might have seen MacDonald in The Grizzlies. The RCMP has ruled the death of the 24-year-old actor as a homicide. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry speaks to the lives that were treated as less than human. These are all related.

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

Canada election 2019: The impact of the official debates

We have noted some absolutely terrible Canadian senators appointed by Stephen Harper, who was prime minister from 2006-2015. Don Meredith (not that Don Meredith) was rather horrible. Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin are on the list. Lynn Beyak had a special place on the list in a sad way.

Lynn Beyak became a champion for the residential schools being not so bad. The Canadian Senate suspended Beyak twice: posting letters to her Senate Web site supporting her views and making horrible, untrue accusations. She fought hard to keep those letters up. As part of the protocol, Beyak was supposed to take anti-racism training. Beyak was suspended a second time for failing to undergo that training.

The Conservative Party did strip Beyak of her status within the party in 2017, a symbolic but virtually meaningless gesture.

Beyak served in the Senate from January 25, 2013 to January 25, 2021. Senators can't serve past the age of 75, as we noted with Mike Duffy finally leaving the Senate for that reason last month. Beyak resigned just before her 72th birthday.

A lot of settlers are ignorant on what happened in residential schools. Some knew and fought really hard to deny reality. Beyak falls in the latter category.

photo credits: The Secret Path film (photos 1,3-4); Birth of a Family film (photo 2)

Edmonton CFL team is now the Edmonton Elks

We like to think of ourselves as being constructive. Be critical and be ready with solutions. The highly problematic Edmonton CFL team nickname has been an issue all along but awareness increased in recent years. We have a policy not to use Indigenous nicknames of pro and college teams in our coverage.

So when people asked what the new nickname should be, my answer was "Edmonton Elks."

When Edmonton made the bold move to remove the offensive nickname, the team wanted to get input. The initial request for names produced 38,761 entries. The short list had Elk, Evergreen, Evergold, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles, and Elements. Full disclosure: took the survey and said "Elks." Elements and Evergold were a bit confusing but any of them would be better than the previous nickname.

The Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club was renamed the Edmonton Elks in 1922 before going back to the offensive nickname.

New Name. Same Game.

Let’s play some football. #ElksCharge pic.twitter.com/RhtwzcAmhv

— Edmonton Elks (@elks) June 1, 2021

The Twitter handle has changed to @elks. For the first time in our CFL coverage, we can identify the full name of every team.

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.@EdmFootballTeam will be the #EdmontonElks. My 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices were Elks. So happy. Will be thrilled to hear "First down, Edmonton Elks." @CFL https://t.co/FVvKGVTYKp

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) June 1, 2021

For more of the recent history, The Jim Jeffries Show looked at the matter from the perspective of an Australian comedian. Warning: the segment actually refers to the offensive nickname.

The revelation of the bodies of 215 children at a Kamloops residential school within the past week, and how some people weren't as shocked by that — this is yet another reminder of how poorly Canada has done to the Indigenous population. The nickname of a Canadian football team is a mild symptom in all of this. The previous nickname was a settler name for a people that wasn't appropriate. There is also the issue of using humans treated less than humans as a mascot. The Edmonton team mascots are thankfully not human beings.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The Washington NFL team has gone with the Washington Football Team while the Cleveland MLB team will change its nickname in 2022. When we are on the other side with a nickname where everyone can be proud, the difference will be exhilarating.

Sports allows those offensive nicknames to be said and written as if they were saying Stampeders or Tiger-Cats. The Cleveland Spiders, the National League franchise in the city in the late 19th century, is better than the current American League nickname and mascot.

The elk is a majestic animal native to the region and fits the double E need to have alliteration in the nickname. Yes, technically elk is also the plural (think deer) but logistically the s is needed.

CFL kicks up Diversity Is Strength campaign

The CFL came out with a campaign on how Diversity Is Strength in 2017. As great as that campaign is, having an offensive nickname was a weakness. Now the Edmonton CFL team is as strong as the elk with the understanding of an enlightened human being.

photo credit: Edmonton Elks
Twitter captures: @elks; @canadian_xing

Michelle Latimer responds in her own words

Michelle Latimer, director of Inconvenient Indian and showrunner for Trickster, has weighed in on allegations over her credentials on being Indigenous. Latimer published a rather extensive response on Medium.com.

As a settler, I know I do not have the status for nuanced questions and what qualifies someone in that world. I do have a general curiosity as someone who has been intrigued by Indigenous works in Canadian television and Canadian film. These questions are intended to learn more and are not designed to offend anyone's sensibilities on the topic.

In the autumn of 2020, the producers who had invited me to direct Inconvenient Indian asked me to be specific about my community affiliation for the launch of the film.¹³ I named Kitigan Zibi. It was what I had been told was the closest historic connection to a “legally established” or non-flooded and non-forcibly dispersed Algonquin nation that represented that side of my ancestry.

It was never my intention to be perceived as a “registered/enrolled member” or “status- Indian” of Kitigan Zibi First Nation. The intention behind my recent naming of Kitigan Zibi was to geographically situate my identity, as I am verifiably connected to the complicated historical and cultural reality of the “Algonquin halfbreed” or Métis population of the Gatineau Valley. This complexity has been painted as though I was attempting to fabricate or appropriate a false identity for personal gain.¹⁴ This is simply not true.

Assuming Latimer's explanation in the essay is precise, does her explanation satisfy people in the community? Does her response make sense as to how she felt about where and how she qualified? Are the producers for Inconvenient Indian and Trickster qualified enough to establish her status?

Can someone who is not a "registered/enrolled member" or "status-Indian" still be Indigenous? Would that person be allowed/encouraged to tell the stories of Indigenous people?

My response to the CBC exposé written by @Kanhehsiio & @JorgeBarrera about Michelle Latimer’s Indigenous ancestry: pic.twitter.com/V3xAanCQuL

— Devery Jacobs (@kdeveryjacobs) December 18, 2020

Contrary to what the media has publicised, in all of my 22 years of professional artistic practice, I have never wavered from self-identifying as mixed blood (Métis) of Algonquin and French Canadian ancestry. I have always been transparent about what I know of my Algonquin/French Canadian roots and, until the fall of 2020, I’d never once been asked to provide “proof”. Therefore, when I was asked to provide a specific community of origin, I named the most well-known community where my family stories come from. When this was challenged by a community representative, I began a detailed process of inquiry that included reaching out to the community directly, and stepping back from my work and responsibilities in order to enquire further. I trusted I would be given the time to do this work. This didn’t happen. Instead, after CBC published an article that questioned my identity on December 17, 2020, the allegations blew up into in a relentless media storm: “questions” about my identity quickly became a declaration that I was a “fake” Indigenous person, with devastating consequences.

Latimer is quick to blame the CBC investigation for her downfall. We aren't fans of "blame the messenger." There were issues and concerns about her background. The CBC investigation was a necessary piece of journalism; to say otherwise would be to diminish the importance of the issue. If Latimer is correct in her take and the community accepts this, the investigation was all the more important. This is May, the story ran in December.

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Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers weighs in on the Michelle Latimer issue

Back in the time, Latimer focused on stories her grandfather told about her ancestry. Knowing how important what one's background is in that community, why didn't Latimer do this research long before now? She noted that the producers of the film asked about her status but wasn't asked about "proof" until the fall of 2020.

There is a considerable amount of research Latimer provides in the essay. If she had all or some that information, the controversy might have not been a big deal.

Flipping that argument: did the community jump to a hasty conclusion based on what we knew in December. If the question was asked about Jeff Barnaby, Alanis Obomsawin, Tracey Deer, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, or Loretta Todd, would their answers be more succinct and easily accepted? (To be clear, we are not going after anyone's credentials. These examples are Indigenous filmmakers whose work we know.)

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Latimer could have drifted into the background and not even given a response. She chose to do the research and provided a response. There are 26 footnotes. As extensive as the essay is, she might not have answered questions some people have about her background.

Will we know if this worked or accomplished more of an understanding? Will this mean people will get to see Inconvenient Indian and another season of Trickster? Will her explanation change the impact of her past work? When those projects came out, there was a consensus that they were strong, earnest presentations of Indigenous stories. If the community accepts and verifies her story, does that apply to those projects and/or any future work?

Rutherford Falls a first for Indigenous people on U.S. television

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

"Genetic ancestry does not prove Indigenous affiliation." Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers wrote those words in December. In reading Latimer's essay, read Tailfeathers' essay and Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs' words (above). Whether you agree with Latimer's take or not, this shouldn't be the end of the conversation. If you are qualified to weigh in, and you disagree with Latimer, help us understand why or why not. This should be part of a dialogue. Your humble narrator is not qualified to be in the conversation but wants to know the results.

photo credit: Trickster/CBC
Twitter capture: @kdeveryjacobs

Rutherford Falls a first for Indigenous people on U.S. television

Indigenous people on U.S. television: the first one I remember is the old man standing by the side of the road with a tear for all the litter. Otherwise, there has been few to anything or anyone since then.

Indigenous people on Canadian television: APTN is a channel in Canada. FNX is based n the United States that shows a lot of Canadian programming. Mohawk Girls, who has been on CBC and CBC Gem, might be the most famous show with a significant Indigenous cast. Trickster made an impact on the CBC and the CW in the United States. Brandon Oakes is on Diggstown, a show coming soon to Fox in the United States.

Rutherford Falls has a mix of Indigenous and white characters. Mixed Blessings is a show that also has a mix of Indigenous and white characters. Rutherford Falls has ups and downs but is definitely better than Mixed Blessings.

Rutherford Falls is a new show from Peacock (think Comcast and NBCUniversal). The show has an Indigenous co-creator in Sierra Teller Ornelas (co-created with Ed Helms and Michael Schur) and a majority Indigenous writers room.

This is a big deal in the United States in terms of visual representation. Canada has been slightly better over the years in terms of putting people on television from different backgrounds. The cries for a "Muslim Cosby Show" ignored the existence of Little Mosque on the Prairie. Fresh off the Boat (U.S.) and Kim's Convenience (Canada) both made an impact in East Asian representation.

We try to cover Canadians on U.S. TV shows. A U.S. TV show might have 1-2 Canadians: Superstore has had Mark McKinney and Lauren Ash. The Moodys, recently on Fox, has Francois Arnaud, Jay Baruchel, and Gerry Dee. Rutherford Falls, perhaps as a result of Canadians being further along in Indigenous programming, has a surprising number of Canadians.

• Michael Greyeyes (Nêhiyaw from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation) as Terry Thomas, the Minishonka casino CEO). Greyeyes is up for a Best Actor nomination for Blood Quantum at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards later this month.
• Dustin Milligan as Josh Carter, a journalist looking for the real story in the small town. Milligan (Schitt's Creek, X Company) has worked on television on both sides of the border. Milligan is of European descent.
• Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as Jess Wells. Jacobs was a 2018 TIFF Rising Star. She was stellar in Rhymes for Young Ghouls. You may have seen Jacobs in Mohawk Girls, Level 16, and Blood Quantum.
• Kiawentiio as Maya Thomas. She was the lead in Beans (TIFF 2020) from Tracey Deer and was in Anne with an E.

(This may not be a full list of Canadian actors on Rutherford Falls. Let us know if we missed someone.)

Seek More embraces inclusion in Canadian television and film

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

Katie Couric's search for a Muslim Cosby Show should take her to Canada

Rutherford Falls has its moments. Episode 4 devoted to Terry Thomas is brilliant in telling stories white people aren't used to seeing. The episode was written by Rupinder Gill, who happens to be Canadian. Gill has written for Schitt's Creek and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

The show has a bit too much Ed Helms at times. That said, the friendship between the Helms character with Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding — Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux) is tremendous in that their differences are barely mentioned.

Canada has had leaps and bounds beyond the United States in terms of Indigenous characters in film. Our film reviews section is filled with our take on Canadian films from Indigenous filmmakers and actors. We also have a section devoted to Indigenous content.

Your humble narrator has had an education over the last few years, mostly due to Canadian film. I could say I know more than a lot of white people on either side of the border but that doesn't mean a lot. Angry Inuk made a large impact on me. Kaniehtiio Horn's beautiful video on Twitter about how to pronounce her full name is also part of my education.

The films were entertaining, mostly. Indian Horse bummed me out. Birth of a Family was sad but highly engaging. The Sixties Scoop was shocking to find out and that it happened so recently in our lifetimes.

Seeing Indigenous characters and people helps people who are not Indigenous to see them as people, flawed people. Sierra Teller Ornelas told Tom Power on Q on CBC Radio about how Hollywood tends to flatten out Indigenous characters, presenting them as one-dimensional. The Indigenous people I have seen on Canadian television and Canadian film have broad experiences, all flawed, some more than others.

Trickster really did show that world more than we've seen on either side of the border. Yes, the whole Michelle Latimer thing. Not to dismiss what was behind the controversy, but that show made an impact. We will see later this month how that might translate at the Canadian Screen Awards.

The show was engaging and entertaining. Americans and Canadians were able to watch the show without cable. Trickster, even with 6 episodes, is part of the path to having Rutherford Falls on television.

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You can find Rutherford Falls on Peacock in the United States and Showcase in Canada.

photo credit: Rutherford Falls/Peacock

Canadian film review: Kayak to Klemtu

Kayak to Klemtu is a simple story with a larger message. Ella (Ta'kaiya Blaney) is 14 with a mission. Her late Uncle Bear (Dave) wanted her to testify against oil tanker traffic running through the Inside Passage amidst the Great Bear Rainforest on the west coast of British Columbia.

To truly get the sense of the area in question and to spread the ashes of her late uncle, Ella wants to kayak up to Klemtu, where the hearing is and also a place that has family ties.

The trip starts out with Ella, Cory, who is Dave's widow (Sonja Bennett), and her son Alex (Jared Ager-Foster). Ella's other uncle Don (Lorne Cardinal) refuses to go at the start. When the group gets stuck early, he decides to come along on the journey.

In a story about Indigenous tradition and story, the opening dynamic of 2 white people and a Indigenous person was really awkward. Cory, who didn't want to cry over her husband's death, proves useless after a single day of rowing. Don ends up rowing his sister-in-law in what is known as a "divorce boat."

The group has various adventures. Ella and her step-cousin Alex have memories of spending time with Uncle Bear. Ella sprinkles some of her uncle's ashes throughout the journey.

You know somewhat how the film will turn out. The joy is in the journey. The area is really lovely. They encounter a lot of nature along the way.

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Blaney gives a strong performance. Her character wrestles with doubt but also hope of pulling off the testimony.

Cardinal always seems to have fun on the screen. Bennett does her best with what has to be a highly frustrating character.

Zoe Leigh Hopkins, who directed and co-wrote the script, gives us a mostly good story that tells necessary truths. I did wonder in watching the film why oil tankers would take the inner passage instead of being out on the ocean. There are relevant real-life examples revealed right after the film ends. A nice touch. This film is fiction but based on real concerns.

Kayak to Klemtu is more of a family film but for more mature kids, given a scene or two. Definitely a film to watch with your kids. As Ella takes in the territory, the viewer sees why this area is so valuable.

The flaws in Kayak to Klemtu are relatively minor. The story is a bit cute but relevant and told well.

Kayak to Klemtu is available in the United States on Amazon Prime Video and should be in Canada on CBC Gem.

photo credit: Kayak to Klemtu film
video credit: YouTube/Cine Las Americas

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

No spoilers here for the Trickster series finale that aired on the CW last night. There are few moments in the history of television where the creators set up a season finale knowing there will be a next season, and then there wasn't. The finale would have been more gratifying if there was a Season 2.

As a season of 6 episodes, the show combined a harsh but accurate realism with the supernatural element of Indigenous stories. Trickster kept my interest all the way through with good stories, interesting characters (good and bad). The coarse language was authentic; the CBC presented it without censorship while the CW bleeped a lot of dialogue.

The U.S. audience got a peek into the problems with residential schools, but likely had to do an Internet search for "residential schools." To our non-Canadian readers doing research, feel free to ignore anything former Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak has to say on the topic.

The furor on social media has been to find another home for future seasons for Trickster. APTN and Crave are possibilities to take up the series though the rights would be tangled up with Season 1 on CBC.

We don't talk often about books on CanadianCrossing.com. Eden Robinson has written the Trickster trilogy. Trickster the series is based on her novel Son of a Trickster (2017). Trickster Drift (2018) might have been the source material for Season 2. The Return of the Trickster is slated for release in March. Robinson wrote Monkey Beach (2000), of which we recently reviewed the film version.

Watching adaptations of books is a lot of fun but those books can be enjoyed on their own.

Canadian film review: Monkey Beach

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side

Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January

Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC

Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV

U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19

Nurses ends its U.S. run for Season 1 on Tuesday. Nurses has some bright moments: the collective care for a chronic long-term patient was so beautiful. This show also gives problems to the nurses that disappear and reappear on a whim: Wolf's issue with affording a specific drug (in Canada) and Naz's needing to learn the basics. Grace's sexual assault by a doctor that got her fired (not him) from her previous job is an important story but handled poorly at times.

The Global show will have a Season 2 in Canada and likely could also run again on NBC.

Fox acquired the rights to the 12 episodes that make up 2 seasons of Diggstown. The CBC show is coming back for Season 3. Diggstown ran the last 2 winters but did not run this winter.

Vinessa Antoine is the lead about a high-powered corporate lawyer who leaves that world to join a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Love the shots of the Halifax area from the show. Natasha Henstridge, C. David Johnson, Stacey Farber, Brandon Oakes, Shailene Garnett, Tim Rozon, and Dwain Murphy are in the cast. In the era of inclusion, great to see a character who is Indigenous (Oakes) but not have that be a big deal.

We don't have a timetable for when Fox will run the show. Summer isn't ideal but that might be the path for the show.

IFC is finally airing the 5 bonus episodes of Baroness von Sketch Show a week from today at midnight Eastern on February 24.

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We don't have word on whether Pretty Hard Cases has a U.S. outlet. NBC Universal is a major producer on the project so one of their networks should eventually air the show. U.S. viewers are in for a rather unusual ride in the police drama genre.

Episodes don't end with cases wrapped up tight. There are comedic elements within the drama. There is a discussion about whether ketchup should be on French fries or off to the side.

Your humble narrator has seen the first 2 episodes. Meredith MacNeill and American actor Adrienne C. Moore form an unusual pair but fun to watch. The surrounding cast works well. Katie Douglas is part of a multi-episode arc reminding us of what we loved and hated about her character on Mary Kills People.

CBC thought enough about the series to give the second episode an extra airing last Sunday night and has used the Hockey Night in Canada games for a lot of promos. The program airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm on CBC and is available on CBC Gem.

photo credit: Trickster/CBC

Canadian film review: Monkey Beach

The timing of Monkey Beach around the time of Trickster is a coincidence since both are adaptations of Eden Robinson novels. Still, the projects show the different ways to interpret the novels.

Lisamarie (Grace Dove) starts out the film in Vancouver talking to her dead cousin Tabitha (Sera-Lys McArthur). Lisamarie has visions, including one where her brother Jimmy (Joel Oulette) has drowned.

Lisemarie decides to move from Vancouver back to Kitamaat, BC and Monkey Beach. There is no hesitation for the move.

Monkey Beach goes back and forth from the present to when Lisemarie was a girl. We get to see more of what she sees, the difference between spirits and ghosts, and talks with her Ma-Ma-Oo (Tina Lameman).

As the layers fall off, we see the impact of the Sixties Scoop on the next older generation from Lisemarie and how they react to the modern world. Lisemarie struggles with the visions and would rather be more "normal." Ma-Ma-Oo works to convince Lisemarie that her powers are special.

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side

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Loretta Todd's background as a documentary filmmaker serves her surprisingly well in her narrative debut. Monkey Beach is a fairly straightforward telling of the story with flashbacks.

For Trickster fans, having Joel Oulette in both projects is a nice coincidence. Unlike Trickster, Monkey Beach is more of an even-keel storytelling.

The mystical elements are engaging even if not fully explained. There is not a lot of tension in the film. Certain subplots come up but this isn't a edge of your seat type film. The ending is vague and also mystical.

Monkey Beach premiered at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival. The film is available in Canada on Crave.

video credit: YouTube/Victoria Film Festival
photo credit: Monkey Beach film