By the Rapids

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]

  1. ^ a b "By The Rapids Cartoon". The Nation: Cree News. 2008-10-25. Archived from the original on 2018-01-13. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  2. ^ "Hometown boy makes good with By the Rapids". Kahnawake News. Kahnawake News. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  3. ^ a b Szklarski, Cassandra (2008-11-13). "Aboriginal cartoon series 5 years in the making". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  4. ^ Marian, Bredin; Henderson, Scott; Matheson, Sarah A. Canadian television : text and context. p. 88. ISBN 129931306X. OCLC 741399601.
  5. ^ Twist, Kade (2007). "Indigenous Animation Movement Rising". Native Peoples Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. 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
  6. ^ Thompson, Isha (2009-11-01). "Two old friends make up a family of characters". Windspeaker (Edmonton). 27: 13. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2017-05-05.