Trailbreakers
with Don Kelly

This week we hit the ice to meet the first First Nations player in the NHL, who not only broke the trail to the big leagues, but set an example to give back.

Listen to Fred:

And we head into the studio to meet an award winning filmmaker who is mentoring a new crop of Aboriginal storytellers.

Listen to Lisa:

Read more »

(Sheila North Wilson)

CBC reporter Sheila North Wilson was invited this past year to assist in the production of We Were Children a docudrama co-produced by Eagle Vision Inc., eOne Television and the National Film Board of Canada. The film examines the experiences of two Residential School survivors. Sheila was assigned the task of translating material in the script from English to Cree. Here she describes the experience:

Savage.

One of the words I had a hard time translating from English into Cree.

I was contacted by a producer for We Were Children to translate some lines in the docudrama for a few of the actors.

Most of the lines were for two particular children: A four-year-old girl who played the young Lyna Hart, one of the main characters in We Were Children, and a teenage boy who played an alter boy. I was simply to translate the words so the actors could use them on set. I was also invited on set to coach the kids too.
 
I was pretty excited to be asked in the first place, but as soon as I got the script and began trying to formulate the English words into Cree, my excitement turned to grief.
 
Emotional grief. Gradual grief.
Read more »

Dave Boulanger, lead singer of Juno award-winning group Burnt Project 1, shares his inspiration for writing the theme music for Trailbreakers. 

Dave is also the composer of the music for that other great CBC Radio One show ReVision Quest!


Read more »

This week, we take two looks at how some First Nations are turning to very non-traditional models to make their Reserves both successful and gainfully employed.

Listen to Chief Clarence Louis:

Listen to Rina Bright:

Read more »

On the first part of Trailbreakers this week, Don Kelly is speaking with Chief Clarence Louis of the Osoyoos Indian Band.  His band is thriving, but we can't ignore the fact, especially when we look at what's been happening with Attawapiskat, that there are still more examples of the rez that are not working.

Winnipeg artist Kevin Lee Burton took a closer look at his reserve through a series of photographs and text in a project produced for the National Film Board.   Trailbreakers asked Kevin why he wanted to participate in this project.


A house in God's Lake Narrows (Scott Benesiinaabandan)

Why did you put this together?

The images that you see in God's Lake Narrows originate from a gallery exhibition at Urban Shaman: Contemporary Aboriginal Art. It was a co-exhibition with Caroline Monnet entitled RESERVE(d). The intention of RESERVE(d) was to create within the gallery space a reimagined 'reserve', a reserve that transcended time and history.

God's Lake Narrows came about when National Film Board Producer, Alicia Smith, approached me to bring the images onto a different platform, and I was intrigued by what she was envisioning. Together we collaborated on what tone would be best for the site. After much banter over what story to tell, we came to the conclusion that it was a) important that it come from my perspective and b) important that the site have an interrogative, yet welcoming tone. It was a perfect collaboration with Alicia Smith, my community of God's Lake and the National Film Board team.

Read more »

The levels of authenticity and depth of indigenous characters portrayed on TV and film has changed a lot in the last 50 years, but the fundamental relationship between Indigena and non hasn't. 

Trailbreakers featured the APTN drama Blackstone this week.  We wanted to know more about how Aboriginal people have been portrayed in film and on TV.  So we asked Arctic Air writer Jordan Wheeler and journalist Trevor Greyeyes  to pick 10 film and TV portrayals of Aboriginal Peoples to demonstrate how it has and hasn't changed since 1962.

Read more »

This week Trailbreakers looks at how art is shaking up Indian country! From the mix of traditional and modern that artist Corrine Hunt put into the 2010 Olympic medals, to the TV series Blackstone that shines an unadorned light on reserve life in Canada.

Hear about Corrine Hunt:

Hear about Blackstone:
Read more »

2. Halloween native: Nothing says cultural insensitivity like dressing your kids as adorable little Indians -- yikes! Or even worse, how about some bedroom role-play living out your favourite fur trader fantasy?

3. Knock off mukluks: They are everywhere these days and usually produced cheaply in China. Buy these instead and support an Aboriginal owned company that works with the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD).

4. Russian figure skating outfits: Who knows what Russian figure skating champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin where thinking when they delivered this performance based upon so-called Australian indigenous designs.
Read more »

By Lisa Charleyboy

It only takes a simple stroll down Queen Street West, the heart of hipster fashion in Toronto, to see how much Native imagery has, once again, infiltrated fashion consciousness. We've all been watching it slowly integrate itself into the latest trends starting with Pendleton designs, southwest patterns, feathers, to mukluks and moccasins.

Mukluks historically come from Indigenous peoples of the Arctic Circle but are seen stomping sidewalks all over North America. Thankfully we have Manitobah Mukluks, a Métis owned company, who produce dreamy designs. Not only are they authentic, they are also made in Canada and the company hires Aboriginal people so you can feel good about purchasing their products.

On the other side of the fashion spectrum, we have the very inauthentic selections that are available at the Canadian retailer Soft Moc. The "mukluks" and moccasins found here not only feature poorly executed beadwork, they are also outsourced and made in China. They are neither First Nations, nor Canadian. 


Read more »