By the Rapids is Mohawk-language animated television show that originally aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) from 2008 to 2012.[1][2] Along with the stop-motion series Wapos Bay, it was among the first Indigenous animated television series in Canada.[3]
The series centers on Cory Littlehorn, a teenager whose family moves from the urban setting of Toronto to the small Native community where his parents grew up and the humor of day-to-day life in a small town.[4][5] It was created by Joseph Lazare who drew from his experience of moving when he was a teenager from Kahnawake, a Mohawk reserve outside of Montreal, to Toronto.[1] Lazare has stated that it was his intent to create a show that "was special to our community but wasn't neglecting people from the outside."[3] Additionally, he wanted to show that his culture was filled with a variety of types of people with different lifestyles.[6]
Lazare and Big Soul Productions have teamed up again to create a 30-minute pilot for the comedy series By the Rapids on APTN. The Mohawk-language 2D animation series is based on his hometown of Kahnawake