Pick of the Day: Wapos Bay, Season 3 (DVD)

Wapos Bay, Season 3 (Series). 6 DVDs. 24 min. ea. with tchr’s. guides online. Prod. by Wapos Bay Prods. and National Film Board of Canada. Dist. by National Film Board of Canada. 2012. ISBN unavail. $335 ser. Includes: A Mother’s Earth; Going for the Gold; Raven Power; Lights, Camera, Action; Dance, Dance; Raiders of the Lost Art.
Gr 2-6—Produced in lovely stop-motion animation, this series, set in a remote Cree community in northern Saskatchewan, gets viewers to join in the lives of three children—Raven, Talon, and T-Bear—and the other members of their community. It provides a realistic view of modern Cree life, with touches of humor and a strong cultural undertone. The episodes cover many relevant issues. Raven tries to discover who she really is for a school assignment. Talon participates in the Indigenous Games by playing golf, but risks losing his friend, T-Bear. The women of the community leave the men to fend for themselves when they are under-appreciated. The community’s children are given an opportunity to celebrate their heritage through film for Treaty Days, but two competing projects emerge. Can cooperation be the key to success? T-Bear would rather dance than wrestle, but hates to disappoint his father. In the last episode, rock paintings are discovered and graffiti artists hit the community—are the two events related? These segments focus on important themes—identity, perseverance, jealousy, cooperation, heritage, and being true to yourself. Along the way there’s humor that will set both children and adults chuckling and messages everyone will appreciate. The programs can be viewed in English, French, or Cree. This is a good addition to multicultural collections, but the programs are also a lot of fun and can be appreciated on many other levels.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA