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Wild Archaeology — Heiltsuk Nuyems

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First, I apologize for a lost week as I was attending a conference in New England. But I am ready to jump back in with a summary of Jenifer and Jacob’s adventures on Wild Archaeology as we explored the central coast of British Columbia.

The thrust of this episode focused on the Kelp Highway Hypothesis, which builds on the Pacific Coast Migration Model. This theory is based on the abundance of food contained within the kelp forests, including shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds and seaweed. By tracking these forests along the Pacific Rim, located along the coastal perimeters of Beringia (which we explored in Episodes 1 and 2), it would suggest a migratory route for populations in this region. Jenifer gets to explore with the sea otters that are indicative of a kelp forest.

Jacob goes diving again to explore the various kinds of kelp that populate a kelp forest and gets a first-hand look at the other creatures that populate this underwater ecosystem.

Then we moved inland to check out the remains of an old and remote Heiltsuk potlatch house once used by the communities that lived in this region at the time when potlatch was outlawed by the Canadian government. Like the one seen in this episode, these potlatch houses were located in an area that could be accessed quickly but still hidden deep within the coastal forests.

Finally, we visited Namu, an abandoned salmon cannery town that also housed one of the largest archaeological sites in existence. Microblades that carbon date back to 8250 BCE have been found in this region of coastal B.C. We also find some stone carvings deep in the inner tributaries in these territories.

A really picturesque episode exploring the B.C. coast. Can’t wait to see where we visit next week!

Wild Archaeology airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Mohawk Ironworkers talks about health

Mohawk health has always been tied to the land. This week on Mohawk Ironworkers we explored health, home and heritage and what these mean to ironworkers. Additionally, how do the three H’s influence lives once you retire from ironworking?

Hayden Hemlock, a retired Mohawk ironworker from a long line of ironworkers, discussed the importance of family and community. “No matter how far you travel from home to work you always return to that home base.”  Even with his time spent growing up in New York while his father worked as an ironworker, home was still Kahnawa:ke. In the business of ironworking, there are many Mohawks, and their camaraderie is the envy of others who work in the trade. But even with this close-knit working community, home beckoned from afar.

Hayden suffered a fall while working, and his injuries have prevented him from returning to ironworking. Despite his injuries, he refused surgery and turned instead to traditional medicines in order to assist with his body’s healing process. Raised with his grandparent’s influence, Hayden developed a deep connection to the land, fostering a deep respect for, and responsibility to, protecting it. Now, instead of walking iron he spends his time building houses in his community of Kahnawa:ke.

Kaniehtakeron Martin is also an ironworker; he has taken a different approach and runs 20 miles every week to maintain his fitness.   When he first started the job, Kaniehtakeron fell into the trap of work hard, play hard, and repeat. Recognizing this lifestyle was unhealthy, he began eating and exercising regularly. “Gegs” now runs marathons in his spare time to take care of his body and to withstand the rigors of his chosen occupation.

This was one the stronger episodes in Mohawk Ironworkers. We got a real sense of the these two men, and how ironworking has affected them on and off the job. Kudos to executive producer Michelle Smith.

Mohawk Ironworkers airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: CBC’s Exhibitionists proves home is where the art is

From Melissa Hank of O.Canada:

Link: CBC’s Exhibitionists proves home is where the art is
Some art purists are quick to extol classic works like American Gothic. The CBC-TV series Exhibitionists, however, staunchly focuses on Canadian modern.

Now in its second season, the show spotlights homegrown artists who are redrawing the creative landscape. And with their emphasis on social media tools like Instagram and Twitter, this ain’t your grandma’s art show. Continue reading. 

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

APTN’s The Other Side explores more ghostly stories in revamped Season 3

Jennifer Podemski is a fan of paranormal programming. Heck, she’s had her own experiences with the otherworldly. But while programs like Paranormal State interested her, they didn’t cover a wide swath of her own background.

“I was a huge fan of Paranormal State, to the point I would watch the same episodes over and over again,” the writer, producer and actor says. “Then I realized, ‘Huh, isn’t it funny that I’ve never noticed how absent this show and genre is of an Indigenous perspective?'” After gleaning that information for several years, she consulted with her Angel Entertainment colleagues Wally Start and Bob Crowe and wrote a show bible. The result? The Other Side—returning for Season 3 this Thursday on APTN—a program that has Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, understanding and belief systems woven throughout the narrative.

“It’s an interesting spin on an old genre,” Podemski says. “I thought it would be amazing to have something on our own network, APTN, that showcased a little bit of perspective.” Back for more experiences are intuitive Jeff Richards and elder and spirit guide Tom Charles, with newbie Michaella Shannon taking over as researcher; researcher Priscilla Wolf and investigator Bill Connelly are longer with the show. Podemski has known Shannon for years, since she was part of the supernatural drama Rabbit Fall, and in addition to being an amazing role model within the community, is an intuitive like Richards. She was a natural when Podemski was looking to refresh and tighten up the series for Season 3.

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That refresh isn’t contained to the cast. The Other Side‘s opening credits have been revised and filming of the 13 episodes took place during the summer months, a first for the program. What hasn’t changed is the content. The Other Side continues its excellent storytelling, education and documentation of paranormal experiences without using cheap camera tricks and dramatic music to play up what this trio witnesses. Thursday’s return instalment, “Mr. Clark,” not only gives a history of Fort Walsh Historic Site in Maple Creek, Sask., and the massacre of First Nations people that occurred there but documents a man who may still be wandering around the grounds.

Podemski says upcoming an episode presents the most meaningful communication between a client and spirit or entity ever while another provides powerful, emotional moments at a residential school.

“One of my biggest concerns about doing [an episode] like that was that the story was told in a respectful and accurate way, that has the ability to transcend the policies around what people understand about residential schools,” she says. “These are real people that are very rarely spoken about in the Canadian narrative. It was a very intense show.”

The Other Side airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on APTN.

Images courtesy of APTN.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: The Brain’s Way Of Healing: TV For The Mind

From James Bawden:

Link: The Brain’s Way Of Healing: TV For The Mind
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a TV documentary as challenging as The Brain’s Way Of Healing.

This hourlong edition of The Nature Of Things premieres Thursday night at 8 on CBC.

As TV networks multiply and fight for ratings dominance any program that  assumes viewers are intelligent and demanding becomes ever more of a rarity. Continue reading.

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