Secret Path Week

More than the Who, the Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley, it was Link Wray’s distorted guitar that forever changed the sound of rock ‘n’ roll. His 1958 track “Rumble” was described by Bob Dylan as “the best instrumental ever”—yet it was banned by many American radio stations. As a Native American, Wray’s music posed a threat to the establishment, as did the blues, jazz and pop of so many other Indigenous musicians over the years. Artists like Charlie Patton, Mildred Bailey and Jimi Hendrix couldn’t be open about their native identities as attempts to erase Indigenous cultures persisted across the continent. Blending audio archives, concert footage and interviews with industry icons Robbie Robertson, Buffy St. Marie, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas) and many others, this Sundance award-winner is an unforgettable and political exploration of a musical history that was silenced for too long. Alexander Rogalski, Hot Docs

Between 2000 and 2011, seven First Nations high school students in Thunder Bay died. Five were found in rivers surrounding Lake Superior. All were forced to leave their homes in order to attend school. Anishinaabe/Polish Canadian journalist Tanya Talaga brought international attention to this tragedy through her award-winning non-fiction book Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City. She cannot separate their story from her own, acknowledging, "I cannot pretend to know what it is like for the parents of the seven to lose a child, but I know something about what it's like to be a bit fractured." In June 2016, a jury concluded its inquest into the deaths and put forward 145 recommendations. In the years following, Talaga returns to Thunder Bay and her ancestral roots to talk with the family members, Indigenous community leaders and youth whose resilience in the face of unjust colonial systems provide a path forward. Alexander Rogalski, Hot Docs

CBC As It Happens: Tanya Talag explores racism in Thunder Bay and her own Indigenous roots in Spirit to Soar

Pow wow techno pioneer Joshua DePerry, a.k.a. Classic Roots, uniquely integrates the sounds of his Anishinaabe heritage with electronic and house music. Redefining what it means to be urban and Indigenous, he’s preparing to start the next chapter of his life as an artist and educator in the world’s techno capital: Berlin. Aisha Jamal, Hot Docs

This is the remarkable and inspirational story of Australian Football League (AFL) player Adam Goodes. To make a Canadian connection to his level of skill and respect in the AFL, consider the NHL’s Sidney Crosby. The difference being that Adam is an Aussie Indigenous footballer.

We experience the journey of Adam’s career and with his success the racism only grew. His love for the game ebbs and flows as he experiences racism on the pitch and beyond, until one day Adam had enough and called a racial slur out in the moment during a match. Similar to what Kyle Lowry did with the Raptors during the NBA Finals (2019) against the Warriors, but the subject and public reaction was different for Adam.

Adam’s story is not isolated. It is consistently being played out in major sporting leagues around the globe. Just this past year we saw the slurs directed to Edmonton Oilers’ Indigenous player Nathan Bear when the Oilers lost in the NHL playoffs. The hatred spewed to the England team Black players who missed their penalty kicks in the Euro Cup Final in July.

We hear of these stories, but The Australian Dream takes you inside the impact these racial abuses have on the person.