Ryan McMahon on 'Colonization Road' and other stories

An Audio Podcast interview on Rabble.ca

We spoke with Anishinaabe comedian and media maker Ryan McMahon when he was in Vancouver to give the keynote speech for Media Democracy Days. One of of his recent projects is the documentary Colonization Road with filmmaker Michelle St. John. McMahon speaks with Redeye host Jane Williams.

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'Colonization Road' Is A Film. It's Also An Actual Road Because Canada

'Colonization Road' Is A Film. It's Also An Actual Road Because Canada

Original Post from the Huffington Post

by Josua Ostroff

Colonization is a word – much like, say, privilege – that makes some people tune out. That was a long time ago, they may think. Or maybe, like former Prime Minister Stephen Harper opining at a 2009 G20 summit, they might consider Canada as having "no history of colonialism." 

But it is a word that will keep coming up as we approach Canada's 150th birthday, the anniversary of a confederation of British and French colonies in a home and native land that had been inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years.

The Popular Front: An “Alternative Year in Review” of 2016 Pop Culture

The Popular Front: An “Alternative Year in Review” of 2016 Pop Culture

Original Post from Canadian Dimension

by Sean Carleton   Culture   December 18, 2016

2016 was quite the year. As the calendar winds down, some people are talking about 2016 as one of the worst years in human history, or at least in recent memory. Indeed, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver captured this popular opinion in the show’s year-end segment, “Fuck 2016.”

2016 produced a Trump presidency and witnessed the rise of the “alt-right” and increasing violence against women, workers, and Indigenous, LGBTQ2, and racialized peoples. 2016 also saw the approval of new pipelines, Brexit, and the deaths of pop culture legends like Prince, Phife Dawg, and David Bowie and revolutionary figures like Muhammad Ali and Fidel Castro. In short, 2016 was merciless.

“Colonization Road” and 2017

“Colonization Road” and 2017

Original Post from the University of Manitoba Today

by Adele Perry, Professor of History

January 9, 2017 — 

There are lots of ways to explore the past, and one of them is through film.  Michelle St John’s new 49-minute historical documentary, Colonization Road is a powerful and prescient reckoning with Canadian history.  It is often very funny, and often very painful.

Colonization Road screened twice on 6 January 2017, once at the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus and once at Cinamateque in downtown Winnipeg.  Each screening was accompanied by a livery discussion between the audience, St. John and the film’s host, Ryan McMahon.

The CBC documentary every non-indigenous Canadian needs to watch

The CBC documentary every non-indigenous Canadian needs to watch

Article from The Georgia Straight

by Amanda Siebert
on January 27th, 2017 at 1:46 PM

With Canada's 150th anniversary and its outrageous $500,000,000 price tag garnering attention nationwide, massive Canada Day parties are being planned from Vancouver to Halifax.

But many have raised questions of how the federal government can justify such spending when atrocities like the ones listed below are taking place on First Nations reserves throughout the country:

    Documentary filmed at Lang Pioneer Village in Otonabee-South Monaghan Township screening Saturday at ReFrame Film Festival in Peterborough

    Documentary filmed at Lang Pioneer Village in Otonabee-South Monaghan Township screening Saturday at ReFrame Film Festival in Peterborough

    From The Peterborough Examiner

    By Jessica Nyznik
    Wednesday, January 25, 2017 12:37:22 EST AM

    An indigenous filmmaker from Toronto whose documentary was partially filmed at Lang Pioneer Village is coming to Peterborough for this weekend's ReFrame Film Festival.

    Michelle St. John's Colonization Road is screening at Showplace Performance Centre on Saturday at 1:45 p.m.

    It's a documentary examining First Nations and settler relations through Ontario's first roadways. The roads were built to make the land accessible for settlers, but ultimately split up and cut off First Nations communities.

    Colonization Road documentary examines legacy of colonialism

    Colonization Road documentary examines legacy of colonialism

    From Kenora Daily Miner and News

    by KATHLEEN CHARLEBOIS
    Miner and News
    Tuesday, January 24, 2017 6:44:59 EST PM

    If seeing the Colonization Road sign off Lakeview Drive makes you ask questions, there’s a new documentary that goes into the history of such roads, both named and unnamed.

    Colonization Road, directed by Michelle St. John and hosted by Anishinaabe and Métis comedian Ryan McMahon, will air on CBC’s Firsthand program on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m.

    St. John said the original idea came from the Colonization Road in Fort Frances when she travelled there with her Turtle Gals theatre company. The next year, she and Jani Lauzon, another company member, travelled to Kenora for a youth conference and were chatting about seeing the road there when they were told there was one in Kenora as well.

    Special thank you to the funders below:

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