8th Fire

More than half of Canada's Aboriginal population now lives in cities. They sometimes call themselves "Concrete Indians". And they are challenging stereotypes. In the opening episode of the four-part series 8TH Fire, host Wab Kinew, from the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in Northern Ontario, and now a Winnipeg-based TV journalist, invites us to come "meet the neighbours". It's about time, since many Canadians say they have never met an Aboriginal person. This vibrant kaleidoscopic hour, introduces a diverse cast of Indigenous characters living in the cities. They are united in a shared bond as Canada's First Peoples and in their determination to reassert their culture within a wider population of non-Indigenous Canadians. "Winnipeg's Most" are three rising-star rappers, trying to move past their own struggles by using their music to charm kids away from gangster life. In Montreal, Nakuset was adopted in the 1970s by Jewish parents and now, against their wishes, embraces her Aboriginal ancestry. She raises her own kids in their Aboriginal culture and runs a native women's shelter. In Vancouver we meet siblings Herb Dixon and Leslie Varley. Leslie holds a senior position in BC health, but her much-loved brother has spent years trying to get out of the drug-plagued Downtown East Side. Together their story offers a powerful and moving look at the ties that bind. Jordin Tootoo, the first Inuk to play in the NHL, escapes the pressure of urban life with trips back to shoot the puck around in Rankin Inlet. In the art markets of Paris, Montreal and Toronto, the work of Cree artist Kent Monkman sells for six figures. His work is fun and subversive, challenging our most widely accepted notions of the colonial relationship. Litigation lawyer Renée Pelletier works in a law office in the big towers of Toronto, but embraces her Maliseet culture. Successful graphic novelist Steve Keewatin Sanderson loves debunking the notion that as an Aboriginal artist he would

It's Time! challenges Canadians with this reality: if we don't improve our relationship with Aboriginal people, we will cripple our economy. Both the footage and the argument come in high definition and make the case that Canada is changing beneath our feet. In a dynamic 2-minute walk through 500 years of history, 8TH FIRE host, Wab Kinew explains how ancient Wampum belts hold a clue to the future. The Supreme Court of Canada now confirms the promises they hold as the truth. The First Nations of this country were not conquered. They signed treaties to share the land, and this means Aboriginal people must be consulted and accommodated when anyone wants to dig, explore or develop on their land. As the world clamours for the treasure trove of resource wealth on the marginalized land we forced them to inhabit, deals must be made with Canada's First Peoples. It's a gamechanger. The film travels the country and discovers people trying to face up to the past, in order to build a better future. In Edmonton, comedian Howie Miller applies a thick coat of black humour to his own story. His son Tyson Houseman stars in the hit series Twilight and strives to be a role model for Aboriginal youth. In Regina, Vanessa Peigan destroys our stereotype of the Aboriginal school drop-out. This mother of six makes it into the world of Canadian banking. In a classroom in Port Perry, Ontario, Nancy Hamer-Strahl's French-immersion students are painting tiles to commemorate children who died in Residential Schools. "This is the generation that is going to have to make this relationship work, and to do that they have to face up to the past," says Hamer-Strahl. It is the key message of 8TH FIRE: this messy relationship has been going on for 500 years - and it's time to fix it! All of these themes can be found entangled in a Saskatchewan classroom of doubting Canadians. John Lagimodiere, a Métis from Saskatoon explains the basics of this troubled relationship. He touches on the arcane

There's no getting around it. Land is the biggest sticking point in the relationship between Aboriginal peoples in Canada and the "settler" population. Who owns it, benefits from it, gets to say when, if and how it gets developed? These questions are all the more crucial because the lands in dispute sit on a treasure-trove of resources, which the world is eager to buy from Canada. But don't despair. This episode of 8th FIRE, full of breathtaking HD landscapes and compelling characters, explores the creative ways of working this out. Clarence Louie, the dynamic Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, is convinced the answer for his people is self-reliance and economic development. And his reserve in BC's gorgeous Okanagan Vally seems to illustrate just that. The band owns the First Nations winery in North America and Nk'Mip Cellar wines have won many international awards. Justin Hall--a young man in the community--has been part of the wine-makers' team since 2010. In Northern Manitoba, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation has embarked on a courageous experiment by partnering with Manitoba Hydro, the same company which, just four decades ago, flooded out their ancestral lands. The community believes that the new revenue-sharing agreement embodied in the Wuskwatim hydroelectric project will lead to sustainable economic development. ANCN Chief Jerry Primrose admits that "people expect great things from this project." Will the Wuskwatim dam succeed in meeting their expectations? In Iqaluit, we drop in during the Toonik Time festival. Inuk businessman Harry Flaherty strolls through the crowd, celebrating the onset of spring. He is proud of his people's accomplishments. The Inuit of Nunavut have realized their dream of establishing their own territory. Nunavut is rich in natural resources, but there are many debates about how they are to be administered and used. Harry Flaherty believes that the resources should be developed, but not at any price. In 1975, the James Bay C

At the close of the series, we meet young Aboriginals preparing to change the future, determined to light the 8th Fire and build a new relationship with Canada. A fascinating range of artists, activists and business people take us through ways to shed the colonial past, build new pathways in education and economic development. This is all in pursuit of a new relationship to replace 500 years of conflict and injustices. In a forest in Quebec, Huron Wendat Artist Teharihulen Michel Savard picks up a rifle and fires. His target: the 143 year-old Indian Act, colonial legislation that to this day governs the lives of most First Nations people. In Wendake, Michèle Taina Audette speaks about the Indian Act's discrimination towards Aboriginal women. Angela Sterritt tells us about her work Children Of the Crown which is a reminder that in Aboriginal culture, women are the guardians of culture and the land. On a TV set in Edmonton Ron E. Scott, a young Métis producer has the Aboriginal world abuzz with debate over Blackstone, his gritty drama series about reserve politics, band corruption and the addictions that threaten the progress of Aboriginal people. On a wide stretch of land 20 km outside of Natashquan, Stanley Vollant, Quebec's first Aboriginal surgeon, tells us how cultural pride and modern education are essential to the health of Aboriginal people. He knows this only too well. He's been through his own dark times and is now walking 4000 km on his people's land in a mission to bring home to Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals, the message that hope is possible and the moment for a new relationship is upon us. On Cape Breton Island Chief Terry Paul explains how the Micmacs of Membertou have been successful in attracting multinationals and in creating sustainable development; thanks to political transparency and the support of their educated youth, who have returned home to work. In a motivational workshop in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Inuk singing star Elisa