AJAs 2017 Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | the-newfoundlander |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | Oct. 30, Nov. 7, Nov. 14, 2023 / |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CANADALAND |
| Name of Program: | Canadaland |
| If co-produced, list partner: | Jesse Brown, Tristan Capacchione Audio Editor, Karyn Pugliese, Bruce Thorson |
| Location: | Benoit's Cove, NL / Toronto, Ont. |
| List awards, grants: | n/a |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: The Newfoundlander is an exploration of my own family history, beginning in Ep. 1 with an investigation into a story told by my late grandfather to a rabbi that he was a Holocaust survivor in hiding—a story that was later written into a book, and then into the hit Broadway musical “Come From Away”. It was a story that, once told and retold, became true for many, including the rabbi and audiences around the world. But it also illustrates our propensity as humans to believe facts and stories that seem true and meaningful, especially when they reinforce our beliefs about ourselves and the world. After seeing the play in 2019, I sat for a couple of years with the bizarre feeling of seeing my grandfather depicted as a Jewish man from Germany whose parents sent him out of the country on a harrowing journey that took him to England, then Newfoundland. He died in 2008 and my family had largely swept it under the rug. Still it was on the public record and I felt I owed it to my grandfather, to my children and family, and to my eventual descendants to correct the record. So I found the British rabbi my grandfather confided in days after 9/11 and interviewed him by phone, gathering new details about my grandfather’s alleged childhood abuse, his escape from Nazi Germany, and his secret life as a Newfoundland-born man. In late 2022 and early 2023 I drove 700km across the island to visit the provincial archives in St. John’s, where I found records of my grandfather’s birth and baptism in Newfoundland. Mission accomplished? No. Because another story about my family emerged shortly after my grandfather—who we now know was living with undiagnosed dementia at the time—revealed himself to the rabbi. This story among members of my family claims my grandfather was a Mi’kmaw man—and that we, too, are Mi’kmaq. In episodes 2 and 3 I chronicle my own journey learning and making sense of my alleged Mi’kmaw ancestry, alongside the history of the fight for recognition of Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland. I visit Elder Calvin White at his home in Flat Bay, where we talk over a feed of moose. I travel to Burgeo, the supposed home of my Mi’kmaw ancestor Jane Matthews, to find out if locals have any information about who she was and where she came from. I also speak with Miawpukek Chief Mi’sel Joe about what it means to be Mi’kmaq. The entire project took about a year to complete—in part because of the extensive research and travel that was necessary at specific times. And in part because at various points I had to sit with the information I was gathering and learning, sometimes for weeks or months, in order to process my evolving sense of self, including as a member of the Brake family, and as a member of a community in which many identify as Mi’kmaq. The greatest challenge came when I was confronted by a family member, who indicated to me that some family members were considering legal action against me—so I’d better “be careful”. After some consideration, I continued to pursue the story unabated by the subtle threat, or by fear of what might happen if I open up a “can of worms that won’t go away,” as one relative told me in a private conversation. The truth, I decided, was more important than suppressing information about who we are as a family of Newfoundlanders with distant Mi’kmaw ancestry. And the potential long-term ripple effects, I think, will benefit future generations that descend from the tens of thousands of Newfoundlanders who have turned to a Mi’kmaw identity in recent years. Like my grandfather’s story of being a Holocaust survivor—which he legitimately and innocently believed—the shifting narrative of who we are as Newfoundlanders with distant Mi’kmaw ancestry needed to be challenged in a sensitive yet truthful way. I think I accomplished that, and have opened up a space for others to begin questioning, privately or otherwise. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: As a freelancer I was paid a flat fee of $3,000 per episode. But between the practical and emotional labour involved in creating this series, this was truly a year’s worth of work and is definitive of my 2023 year as a journalist. |
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