Tag Archives: APTN

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Mohawk Ironworkers: Training for Steel

How does someone become an ironworker? It is not like it was decades ago; nowadays you need considerable formal training.

Episode 4 of Mohawk Ironworkers gives us the inside scoop on how to become an ironworker. Elder and retired ironworker Paul Deer—and my personal favourite in this series—shares how things were done in the past. There was nowhere to go to learn, so the skills were shared through family. Fathers taught sons and uncles taught nephews … it was in the blood. Today, you need 1,000 hours of training along with thousands of hours more as an apprentice before you can become a certified Journeyman Ironworker.

We visit a couple of schools that provide this training in Quebec. One such program is offered jointly by Kahnawa:ke and the Local 711 Ironworkers Union. The nine-month in-class program covers the schooling and gives students an opportunity to learn their craft safely in a controlled environment. Upon completion, candidates must find their own apprenticeship positions in order to gain enough hours to finally be tested and certified.

Another program is offered in Akwesasne, offering both apprentice and probationary training for ironworkers. This allows students to receive supervised on the job training in preparation for unionization.

Some of the students are showcased, with many of them coming from long lines of ironworkers. I found it interesting that physical fitness was a part of the training program. It makes absolute sense that you be physically able to manoeuvre at the heights that these men and women do but I was surprised this was a part of the actual training.

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Taken: Marie Jeanne Kreiser — A Case of Intergenerational Trauma

In this episode of Taken, host, creator and director Lisa Meeches introduces us to Marie Jeanne Kreiser, a residential school system survivor.  By all accounts, Marie Jeanne was a loving mother known for her kindness. However, Marie Jeanne also struggled with alcoholism, depression and suicide attempts. While in the custodial care of the residential school, Marie Jeanne fell prey to abuses that scarred her, making her vulnerable to dangerous relationships as an adult, like so many other RSS survivors. In addition to suffering from abuse, she also became pregnant; Marie Jeanne carried her child to term and the child was forcibly taken from her and adopted by an unknown family. No one knows the whereabouts of her child.

Family and officials are concerned about the man named Al that Marie Jeanne was last involved. Al was described as a very cold, incommunicable man, known to have a violent history, who fell victim to his own dependence on alcohol and, ironically, was killed by a drunk driver.  Marie Jeanne was last seen in September of 1987 in Westlock, AB.

After nearly 30 years from the time of her disappearance, Marie Jeanne’s remains have yet to be found. Originally, her case was listed as missing, but in 1990 the RCMP officials upgraded it to suspicious. (I did a little bit of online research and I found it interesting the web page the CBC has dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls still has Marie Kreiser listed as missing.)

Jody Stonehouse, researcher of Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, discusses some of the effects RSS survivors face as a result of their abuses. Children apprehended from their communities oftentimes suffered from depression and post traumatic stress disorder. When returning home, these same children no longer knew the language of their parents and did not know who they were, so they abandoned their home communities and returned to a large urban centre where they began to use alcohol or other substances as sedatives, particularly when they had suffered abuse.

The underlying theme of this episode of Taken focuses on the lateral violence and intergenerational trauma Indian Residential School survivors and their families face. Multiple generations across Canada were forced to attend these schools; as a result when these children grew into adults, the life partners they chose also struggled with the same issues of depression and PTSD. This results in descendants of these families living with the symptoms of their parents’ trauma as their own trauma.

Once again, this episode brings attention to the discriminatory clichés authorities sometimes use to repeatedly brush off this sexualized and racialized violence.

Taken airs Fridays at 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Mohawk Ironworkers — Ultimate Ironworker

We have ultimate fighters and ultimate frisbee, so it is entirely suitable that there are Ultimate Ironworker competitions too, showcased during Tuesday’s new episode of Mohawk Ironworkers.

Mike Swamp has been organizing the Ultimate Ironworker competition in Akwesasne for 13 years; the annual competition gives ironworkers the opportunity to come together and turn work into games. Competitors come from across the eastern U.S. and Canada to showcase their skills in such events as knot tying, rivet tossing and column climbing.

Among the competitors are some familiar faces, including Bill “Moon Over Manhattan” Sears from Akwesasne, but this is to be expected as this is a tightly knit community of workers. This day of competition is a celebration of skills and camaraderie, brought to life via clips from the 2015 competition, exhibiting their brotherhood. Before the games begin these hard working men and women take time to recognize those lost in the last year. One worker who was especially noticed was Angus Adams, a man whose legacy in ironworking continues in his grandson Brandon Benedict.

Tuesday’s episode, although informative, felt weak. Yes, we gained insight into the brotherhood of these brave skywalkers, and how knowledge is passed from one generation to the next. I did enjoy the segments explained by elder and retired Mohawk ironworker Paul Deer from Kahnewa:ke, listening to him explain how each of the activities related to the job.

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

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Taken: Downtown East Side — Danielle LaRue and Ashley Machiskinic

Episode 3 of Taken focused on Vancouver’s downtown east side, a district notoriously recognized as “Canada’s poorest postal code.” It is an area plagued with homelessness, addiction, drug trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The two cases chosen on Friday highlight the larger social problems faced in that neighbourhood. Angela McDougall, executive director of Battered Women Support Service explains, “that the neighbourhood over time became a place that was considered the scourge of the city. And as the scourge of the city it also became a place where women were deemed to not deserve the protection of the police, the state, or of men. It [the district] became in some cases a sacrifice zone where women were there and where men who wanted to do violence could do so with impunity.”

We are introduced to the stories of Ashley Machiskinic and Danielle LaRue. Danielle LaRue was a high-spirited, adventuresome child who loved being the clown. This was a mask she wore to hide her pain. She was abused by her mother at a young age and spent a good deal of time in and out of foster care. She ran away to Prince George, B.C., but sexual exploitation and drug abuse consumed her. Danielle hoped to escape that in Vancouver, but she had sunk so far no one was aware she was missing until an anonymous letter was received by the Vancouver police on New Year’s Eve, 2002. It was another five months before police issued an alert Danielle was missing. The case remains unsolved.

Ashley Machiskinic is remembered fondly by her cousin Mona Woodward—a social worker who at one time also came very close to being one of the many victims of Vancouver’s downtown—as a very happy, bubbly, generous girl. She had a very difficult upbringing, living in foster homes until the age of 12 when her mother brought her to Vancouver to escape.

Vancouver police veteran Dave Dickson met the young Ashley and described her as, “just a little sweetheart. She was just 14 years old when I met her. She was just another typical kid that was in the care of the ministry.” Sadly, life on the streets also turned to addiction and sexual exploitation for Ashley, with several bouts in hospital. On September 15, 2010, her body was found in the alley behind the Regent Hotel; she was thought to have fallen, but many believe she was thrown from a 4th storey window. Her death was ruled a suicide. Those who knew her beg to differ.

As a result of this public outcry, Sister Watch was formed, a multi-faceted initiative designed to combat violence against women and make life on the streets of downtown Vancouver safer for all who live there.

This was another powerful episode of Taken. Despite the difficult subject matter, I recognize how important it is this series be seen by as many people as possible. Like these two cases, so many continue to be unsolved. If anyone does have information about this or any other case you are asked to contact Taken.

Taken airs Fridays at 7 and 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

 

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Taken: Highway of Tears — Ramona Wilson and Alberta Williams

Episode 2 of Taken features The Highway of Tears; a stretch of Highway 16 located in northern British Columbia. Countless Indigenous women and girls have either gone missing or been murdered, but all have one link: this stretch of highway from Prince Rupert to Prince George. The topography in this area is especially suited for concealment; it is a neverending network of logging roads, ravines and rivers. However, as host Lisa Meeches points out, “these crimes of opportunity are about more than location. They reveal dark underlying truths about society.”

Tonight, Taken focuses on two separate cases from the Highway of Tears: Ramona Wilson and Alberta Williams. Both led happy lives surrounded by family and friends. Their murders devastated their families and in each case, remain unsolved.

Alberta Williams, 24, had been at a local pub on August 15, 1989, with family and friends, celebrating a last night with visiting friends. It was the last time she was seen alive; her body was found a little over month later near the Tyee overpass. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted. In addition to the officers working the case, Alberta’s sister enlisted the aid of private investigator, former RCMP officer Ray Michalko to try and find her sister’s killer

Ramona Wilson, meanwhile, was a well-loved child, active in sports and would often lose herself while composing poetry. On the  evening of June 11, 1994, at the age of 16, Ramona left home to go to a dance with her friends in a neighbouring town. She never arrived. It was not until April 10, 1995—almost a year later—that Ramona’s remains were found with her clothing neatly placed nearby. RCMP staff sergeant  Wayne Clary still believes Ramona’s case is very solvable. Many suspects have been eliminated but to date it remains unsolved.

These two cases highlight a social issue many communities face today: a lack of affordable transportation. How do you get from an isolated community to a neighbouring urban centre? Chief Terry Teegee of Carrier Segani Tribal Council—and cousin of Ramona—reminds us this complicates lives for many. Appointments may be missed, steady employment is difficult, it is hard to attend school, or to even get an adequate education. Due to the remoteness of northern communities, there are fewer opportunities for economic development. This results in a lack of affordable transportation, so many community members resort to hitchhiking despite the danger.

Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International Canada explains further: “The very fact that we are looking at rates of violence seven or eight times higher than all other women and girls in Canada means that this violence does not come from a single source but is pervasive … the very fact that this violence could go on year after year tells us that there is something fundamentally wrong here.”

Once again, I need to repeat, this program is not designed to entertain us, but rather is about sharing information. I do like the way each case has been chosen to highlight larger systemic problems. Many Indigenous communities face these issues that are a direct result of colonizing policy and practices still prevalent in Canada today. I am also very pleased APTN airs each episode twice in each time zone. If you missed it last week, you have the opportunity to see it again the following week.

Viewers are asked to visit the Taken website if they have any information.

Taken airs Fridays at 7 and 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.

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