GZP Edmonton

The Video Ballad

On The River is a Video Ballad, presented by Ground Zero Productions, about the town of Fort McKay. The town is a community of Cree, Dene and Métis peoples a half hour’s drive north of Ft. McMurray, in the midst of major oil sands sites. It has experienced tremendous changes in the past 65 years. On The River reflects on these changes through song and video, telling this story through the lens of the life of former chief, Dorothy McDonald.

The video ballad is a live performance that combines new songs from Asani and Maria Dunn with video interviews from people who knew Dorothy. Asani is an Aboriginal women’s trio who received the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year, and who have performed across Canada and internationally at such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York. Maria Dunn is a Juno-nominated folk musician/songwriter, who has collaborated with Ground Zero Productions on several projects.

The video ballad is currently available for booking.

What is the show about?

GZP has received support from the Canada Council’s Artists and Community Collaboration program to support the initial stages in the development of a new Video Ballad about Fort McKay. The town is a community of Cree, Dene and Métis peoples a half hour’s drive north of Ft. McMurray, in the midst of major oil sands sites. It has experienced tremendous changes in the past 65 years. This spring, GZP created a Video Ballad called On The River that reflects on these changes through song and video, telling this story through the lens of the life of former chief Dorothy McDonald

Today Fort McKay is surrounded by the oilsands industry. This was not the case in the late 1940s when Dorothy was born. At that time, her family spent much of their time at nearby Moose Lake - hunting, trapping and fishing. Starting when Suncor began production in 1967 and continuing up until today, the community has experienced rapidly accelerating contact with resource extraction. In 1980, Dorothy was the first Aboriginal woman to be elected Chief of an Alberta Band. She served several terms, during which time she helped Fort McKay develop from a small cluster of houses without basic services such as telephone and running water into a self-sufficient community with full services, a fire station and new Band Council offices.

These services did not come without struggle. Dorothy and the people of Fort McKay were forced to set up a road blockade in early 1983 to draw attention to the needs of their community. She also fought against oil sands companies to protect the health and safety of her people. She worked to set up the Fort McKay Group of Companies to help the community benefit from the resource development already taking place, creating opportunities for employment.

On The River is a Video Ballad. It’s a live performance that combines new songs from Asani and Maria Dunn with video interviews from people who knew Dorothy. Asani is an Aboriginal women’s trio who received the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year, and who have performed across Canada and internationally at such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York. Maria Dunn is a Juno-nominated folk musician/songwriter, who has collaborated with GZP on several projects.

Dorothy McDonald-Hyde was the first elected female Aboriginal chief in Alberta. After being a band manager for several years in the seventies, she served four terms as chief between 1980 and 1992. During this time, she laid the groundwork to acquire the basic services for the community that they enjoy today, such as water and sewer facilities and fire services.

Dorothy was a pioneer in the development of consultation models, regulatory boards, and agencies that protect Fort McKay and other First Nations. According to Dorothy’s husband, Rod Hyde, “the surrounding oil companies were often dismissive to the needs of the people of Fort McKay before Dorothy’s tenure as chief.” Starting in 1980, Dorothy’s planning was instrumental in the development of Fort McKay’s administration and the 1986 incorporation of the Fort McKay Group of Companies.

Dorothy was not only a pioneer and founder, she was a champion of environmental protection as well as traditional rights and human rights. She became famous as the first person to successfully take a stand against powerful industry giants that were profiting from her homelands.

Dorothy’s battles for trappers’ rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, and protection of the environment are as numerous as the trees that she saved.