Red Road Documentary-The Barry Hambly Story

©Lost Heritage Productions Inc.- 27 Adler Ave - Hamilton, Ontario - L8W 3C3 - Tel/Fax: 905.385.7260 - email: info@novamulti.com

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

A documentary for television

Maggie & Don Hambly, and Saskatchewan social worker
Louise Jacek, with Barry on the first weekend at the Hamblys.

		The events that lead up to the removal of Barry Hambly and his three brothers from their mother, reflected a series of policies that adversely affected — and continue to affect — First Nations people. Barry's mother, Darlene Whitecap, has experienced firsthand the impact of these policies on her life, and the lives of her children. Darlene Whitecap was raised on a reserve and taken away to a white-run residential school at age four. Eventually returning to the reserve, she found herself in an abusive relationship when she was 16. By the time she was 24 years old, with four young children, alcohol had become a part of her life. It was then that she decided to run from the reserve to Regina. Soon after, she would lose her children to social agencies due to her alcoholism. The adoption policies of this era were controversial and became known as the "Sixties Scoop".Information below taken from: Full Circle. Canada's First Nations. John Steckley, Humber College and Bryan Cummins, McMaster University. Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13.087830.8 STEALING THE CHILDREN: THE SIXTIES SCOOP In 1951, the Indian Act was changed so that provincial authorities would be responsible for the welfare of Indian children. This had little effect initially. This can be seen in the British Columbia statistic for 1955 in which 29 of the 3,433 children placed in protective care in the province were Native, less than 1%. Starting in the 1960's, however, aggressive policies of taking Native children from their families, communities, and from the Native world generally came into play. In British Columbia in 1964, the figure became 1,446 Native children out of a total of 4,228 children, or 34.2%. In his book "Native Children and the Child Welfare System", writer Patrick Johnston coined the term "Sixties Scoop" to refer to the forced migration of Aboriginal children. The situation was the worst in Manitoba. Between 1971 and 1981, over 3,400 Native children were taken from their homes and removed from their province. More than a thousand of these children were sent to the United States, where there was a demand for children to adopt. American agencies could get $4,000 for every child placed. Native children in the United States had been adopted in a similar way until 1978, when the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed, protecting the children from being taken from their people... There is still no such law in Canada. In 1982, the Manitoba government finally agreed to impose a moratorium on the export of children outside of the province, the last province to do so. There was an investigation into the practice. Justice Edwin C. Kimelman wrote a report in 1985 entitled ‘No Quiet Place’, based primarily on looking at the 93 children that were “exported” in 1981. He did not mince his words in his conclusions, saying: “Cultural genocide has been taking place in a systematic routine manner. One gets an image of children stacked in foster homes as used cars are stacked on corner lots, just waiting for the right ‘buyer’ to stroll by”. (as reported in Fournier and Crey 1997:88)... WHY TAKE THE CHILDREN AWAY? Why did they take these children from their homes and from their people? There are a number of reasons. Part of it is cultural. Non-Native social workers and agencies have in their minds a set of ideas as to what a “family” and a “good home” are like. For “family”, they think of two parents and their children, the nuclear family. However, there are strong traditions in Native cultures in Canada that think of the family as something larger than this… Then there is the “good home” in terms of physical resources. For non-Native Canadians, this would include a separate bedroom for each child, sewage or a septic tank, and running water. Most Native houses, often structures designed by Indian Affairs, could not meet those “standards”…Sometimes the children were taken away “for health reasons”. This could mean that newborn infants needing to be in or near an urban hospital for treatment would be fostered to a non-Native family who lived nearby and would never be given back to their Native parents. This despite the fact that those parents had done nothing to abuse or even harm the children.
Barry (under the pseudonym Louis) and his brother, Lionel (Martin) were featured in this 1975 Government of Saskatchewan adoption services poster that appeared in public places throughout the province. However, the names under the picture were inverted: Barry (Louis) is the one on the right.

Barry Hambly with Birgil Kills Straight, a Dakota Elder.

Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill, Head, Aboriginal Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, was interviewed for Red Road.

Researcher Val Rider and Native traditionalist Gabby Saulteaux with their newborn son at Carry The Kettle First Nation, Saskatchewan.

©Lost Heritage Productions Inc.- 27 Adler Ave - Hamilton, Ontario - L8W 3C3 - Tel/Fax: 905.385.7260 - email: info@novamulti.com

BEHIND THE SCENES

A documentary for television

Barry Hambly, around the time of his adoption by the Hambly's in 1977, and today.

	“I was born into a Saskatchewan First Nation family. When I was four, my three brothers and I were taken from our mother. We were split up, shuffled from foster home to foster home. I survived by learning never to become attached. I knew I would probably move on tomorrow.” — Barry Hambly Barry Hambly needed his birth certificate when he wanted to work in the United States as a bricklayer. The social worker documents that had followed him through ten foster homes and his adoptive home in Hamilton would lead him back to Carry The Kettle First Nation in Saskatchewan. He was to discover that his birth mother, Darlene Whitecap, had returned there. After initially contacting her by phone, he promised himself that one day he would meet her face-to-face. Barry had always wanted to write the story of his life and, the idea for a documentary evolved through his association with producer Dan Petrusich. The result is a controversial and emotional story told from Barry’s point of view, about a young aboriginal man raised in a non-Native community, who is searching for his identity. PRODUCTION NOTES As our shooting schedule approached, the uncertainty of Darlene Whitecap’s participation left us in the right, and Bali lurch. After many revisions to our production schedule and winter fast approaching, I decided to gamble and head to Saskatchewan with cinematographer Helmfried Müller. We arrived in minus 32-degree temperatures, which remained so during our filming. There were many spontaneous decisions and poignant moments in Saskatchewan. Upon Barry’s arrival in Regina, he decided to visit his older brother, Lorne Whitecap, whom he hadn’t seen in 30 years, and a half brother he had never met. Later that evening when he checked into the four-room hotel in Montmarte, Saskatchewan, Barry was immediately recognized as a Whitecap although he had not stepped foot in the area for over 30 years. At this point, Darlene’s participation was still uncertain. After the long-awaited adoptive home, knock on her door, we left Barry and his mother to meet in private. Soon after, Barry tracked down his father, who was in a nearby nursing home. Ironically, upon arriving at the home, Barry would pass his father in the hallway — neither father nor son recognized each other. Barry’s father died one month later. When First Nation researcher Val Rider mentioned “red road” as a term used amongst Native people, it was obvious to me that it would also be an appropriate title for the film. Red Road merges cinema verité and traditional documentary styles. Early childhood photos of Barry up to age seven are virtually non-existent. Re-creation scenes shot on 16mm black & white film help to visually reinforce moments in Barry’s early life. Red Road was shot in Saskatchewan and Hamilton, Ontario, as well as Cookstown and Toronto. The story is one of healing and reconciliation. It is also a look into the painful past of Canada’s aboriginal people and the issues confronting them today.” Conrad Beaubien, Director Film Previews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7--Lt11tTk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujau8Fm4Tko&feature=related
Barry, at right, and his brother, Lionel, summer 1976.

Barry, at left, and Lionel at picnic,summer 1976.

Barry, (bottom right), and Bali foster family, summer 1976.

Barry on plane en route to Hambly adoptive home, Hamilton, Ontario, December 1977.

The “new” Hambly family, December 1977.		Maggie Hambly with Barry and film crew in her Hamilton garden.	Barry visits his ancestral birthplace with Darlene Whitecap, his birth mother.	Barry meets his ailing father, Les Prettyshield, in a Wolseley, Saskatchewan nursing home.

Barry, middle row left, with his older brother, Lorne Whitecap, middle row right, and his half brother, Trevor Prettysheild, front row right.

©Lost Heritage Productions Inc.- 27 Adler Ave - Hamilton, Ontario - L8W 3C3 - Tel/Fax: 905.385.7260 - email: info@novamulti.com

THE FILMAKERS

A documentary for television

Barry Hambly and Cinematographer Helmfried Muller on location at Carry The Kettle First Nation, Saskatchewan

		DAN PETRUSICH, Producer Red Road a documentary by Hamilton-based producer Dan Petrusich. The film was inspired by the life story of Barry Hambly, whom Petrusich had come to know in Hamilton. The two, along with Hambly’s partner Hanri Joubert, collaborated on the initial concept. The producer’s company, NOVA Multimedia & Video Production, was established in 1990. The company’s services include concept and script development, field production, motion graphics/animation design, narration and post-production. Dan Petrusich and his creative team have produced projects ranging from television commercials, training & corporate videos, to the production of live events such as conferences and trade shows. CONRAD BEAUBIEN, Director/Writer Toronto-based filmmaker Conrad Beaubien, a 30-year veteran of the film & television industry, brings to the project a merging of cinema verité and traditional documentary styles. Director & writer of Red Road, Beaubien felt that Barry’s story needed to be told. It is a timely story that spans generations and demonstrates the impact of colonialism on First Nations people. Beaubien has numerous industry credits including writer/producer/director of more than 250 half-hour programs for television (drama, news magazine and documentary). An independent producer for over 20 years, he is also the creator of the popular nationally-syndicated series Sketches of Our Town, hosted by the late Harvey Kirck. Sketches has become one of the longest running independently-produced television series in Canada. His most recent project is the award-winning Shakespeare and kids’ documentary, The Secret of Will (Yorkton Golden Sheaf Award 2004). Beaubien has also had the opportunity to produce various films over the years focusing on aboriginal topics, the most recent being The Village of Thirty Centuries. OTHER CREATIVE The creative team also included DOP/Cinematographer Helmfried Müller and Picture Editor Bruce Lange. Adding to the Hamilton connection, Beaubien collaborated with respected Songwriter/Performer Ray Materick, creating an original song for the project. Sung by Materick, “The Red Road” lyrically sets out the premise of the film. Overall music for the film was composed by Rene Brossard, with additional works by Richard L. Green .
Director/Writer Conrad Beaubien, Cinematographer Helmfried Müller and Producer Dan Petrusich.
	Producer Dan Petrusich

	Producer Dan Petrusich Technicolor Editing Facilities
	Director/Writer Conrad Beaubien interviews Barry Hambly.

	Canadian Society of Cinematographers Review

	Dobro player Joey Ace with Songwriter/ Performer Ray Materick.		Cinematographer Helmfried Müller and Director/Writer Conrad Beaubien with Barry Hambly.

	Picture Editor Bruce Lange, right, with Director/Writer Conrad Beaubien		Cinematographer Helmfried Müller and Director/Writer Conrad Beaubien

©Lost Heritage Productions Inc.- 27 Adler Ave - Hamilton, Ontario - L8W 3C3 - Tel/Fax: 905.385.7260 - email: info@novamulti.com

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46 min 15 sec DVD Red Road documentary enclosed in black Amary 14 mm Movie Style case with sleeve insert including Public Performance Rights.

$400 (Off-Premise licence)

*"Off-Premise Licence" allows exhibit of DVD within the physical boundaries of the institution and borrowing by students, faculty and staff of the institution without charge for private viewing.

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Lost Heritage Productions Inc.

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Tel/Fax: 905-385-7260

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