Spirit Bay
Encyclopedia
Spirit Bay was an aboriginal family television show of 14 half-hour episodes that aired on CBC
and TV Ontario from 1980 to 1986. The show focuses on the lives of townsfolk on an Ojibwe reservation town in MacDiarmid, Ontario. Here, the residents have adapted to white society while retaining traditional links to the land through fishing, trapping and hunting. The show details the spiritual kinship between Spirit Bay families, nature, and modern life on the reserve from a young person's viewpoint. Being the first true aboriginal television series, it set the stage for all other native Canadian programming thereafter (such as: The Rez
, North of 60
and Moccasin Flats
), and paved the way for many famous first nations, Canadian actors.
Lesser known elder actors included:
Noted elder aboriginal actor George Clutesi
(who played Old Bernard) appeared in a few episodes. In one memorable episode he helps the community deal with the white man's upsetting of a 500 year old native burial ground.
, who played Rabbit, a young teen who comes to the reserve from the city after he is adopted. He was the only actor in the series who was not of native origin. Other child actors on the show included:
Lesser used child characters included: Tonka (Elton's brother) and Rose (a young teen who helps the kids in a winter bus accident by using her survival know-how).
at the Rocky Bay First Nation.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
and TV Ontario from 1980 to 1986. The show focuses on the lives of townsfolk on an Ojibwe reservation town in MacDiarmid, Ontario. Here, the residents have adapted to white society while retaining traditional links to the land through fishing, trapping and hunting. The show details the spiritual kinship between Spirit Bay families, nature, and modern life on the reserve from a young person's viewpoint. Being the first true aboriginal television series, it set the stage for all other native Canadian programming thereafter (such as: The Rez
The Rez
The Rez was a first nations, Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1996 to 1998. Most of the characters were based on W.P...
, North of 60
North of 60
North of 60 is a mid-1990s Canadian television series depicting life in the sub-Arctic northern boreal forest . It first aired on CBC Television in 1992 and was syndicated around the world. It is set in the fictional community of Lynx River, a primarily Native-run town depicted as being in the...
and Moccasin Flats
Moccasin Flats
Moccasin Flats is a Canadian drama series that ran for three full seasons. This series, which has been aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Showcase Television since 2004, is a co-produced by Big Soul Productions Inc. and Stephan Onda Productions inc....
), and paved the way for many famous first nations, Canadian actors.
Notable actors from the series
- Graham GreeneGraham Greene (actor)Graham Greene is a Canadian actor who has worked on stage, and in film and TV productions in Canada, England and the United States.-Early life:...
as Pete "Baba" - Tom JacksonTom Jackson (actor)Thomas Dale Jackson, OC , is a Canadian born Métis actor and singer perhaps best known for the annual series of Christmas concerts, called the Huron Carole, which he created and starred in for 17 years...
as Will - Tantoo CardinalTantoo CardinalRose Marie "Tantoo" Cardinal, CM is a Canadian film and television actress.-Career:Cardinal was born in Anzac, Fort McMurray, Alberta. Her mother, Julia Cardinal, was a Métis of Cree descent...
as Rabbit's foster mother Annie - Gary FarmerGary Farmer- History :Farmer was born in Ohsweken, Ontario into the Cayuga nation and Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy. Farmer attended Syracuse University and Ryerson Polytechnic University, where he studied photography and film production....
as Hack's uncle Cheemo - Shirley CheechooShirley CheechooShirley Cheechoo is an award winning Cree actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist, probably best known for her solo-voice or monodrama play Path With No Moccasins, as well as her work with De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig theatre group...
as Mavis and Tafia's mother - Monique Mojica as Hack's mother Gloria
- Margo KaneMargo KaneMargo Kane is a Cree-Saulteaux performing artist and writer known for her solo-voice or monodrama works Moonlodge and Confessions of an Indian Cowboy, as well as her work with Full Circle First Nations Performance.-Early life:...
as the school teacher
Lesser known elder actors included:
- Gladys Taylor as Teawash
- Colleen Loucks as Aunt Lily
- Ron Cook as Baba Shigobo
- Blake Debassige
Noted elder aboriginal actor George Clutesi
George Clutesi
George Clutesi, CM , was a Tseshaht artist, actor and writer, as well as an expert on and spokesman for Native Canadian culture.-Biography:...
(who played Old Bernard) appeared in a few episodes. In one memorable episode he helps the community deal with the white man's upsetting of a 500 year old native burial ground.
Child actors from the series
One of the child stars of the show was Trevor SmithTrevor Smith (actor)
Trevor Smith is a former Canadian television personality, best known for his role in the reality television series U8TV: The Lofters...
, who played Rabbit, a young teen who comes to the reserve from the city after he is adopted. He was the only actor in the series who was not of native origin. Other child actors on the show included:
- Cynthia Debassige as Tafia
- Diane Debassige as Mavis
- Lance Migwans as Hack
- Eugene Thompson as Minnow
- Liza Haldane as Lenore
- Mark Bruder as Elton
Lesser used child characters included: Tonka (Elton's brother) and Rose (a young teen who helps the kids in a winter bus accident by using her survival know-how).
Theme music
The haunting theme song was penned by Canadian music and acting legend Buffy Sainte Marie.Filming location
The show was shot on location in MacDiarmid, Ontario on Lake NipigonLake Nipigon
Lake Nipigon is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario . It is sometimes described as the sixth Great Lake. Lying 260 metres above sea level, the lake drains into the Nipigon River and thence into Nipigon Bay of Lake Superior...
at the Rocky Bay First Nation.
Episode titles and synopsis
- A Time to Be Brave- Tafia has to overcome her fear of trains to help her father survive in the dead of winter.
- Rabbit Goes Fishing- Rabbit takes a boat out too far.
- A Real Kid
- The Blueberry Bicycle- Elton uses his money to get spare parts for his bike from elder Teawash, and by doing so learns a valuable lesson in the town's bike race.
- Words on a Page- Lenore writes a story that could win her a scholarship in the city, but her father is reluctant to let her enter it in a contest.
- Circle of Life- The kids find a native skeleton on an island. When a museum comes and take the bones to Thunder Bay the community is outraged, yet they find a way to bring them back for a proper ceremonial burial.
- Hack's Choice- Hack's uncle, a former WHA hockey pro, comes back to Spirit Bay to try to weasel him out of his father's medicine bag so he can sell it to collectors.
- Rabbit Pulls His Weight- Rabbit literally pulls his weight when he helps out a pilot whose plane has crashed.
- Hot News- Mavis and her cousin Mary want to write an article about an old Indian recipe, but end up fighting with one another in their canoe while a dangerous forest fire lingers nearby.
- Break In- Rabbit finds out that his foster mother, Annie, is pregnant, and he runs away for fear he will be ignored.
- Big Save- Spirit Bay's broomball team gets stranded in a blizzard and Rose has to use her survival know-how to save the kids.
- Dancing Feathers- Tafia is taken to Toronto for the annual pow wow festival.
- The Pride of Spirit Bay- Tafia learns the value of true art from her elders.
- Water Magic- Rabbit and Hack make a dangerous journey when they believe they have jinxed Cheemo's fishing trip.