On The River

On the River is a 60-minute live performance of music and video that tells the story of the Cree, Dene and Métis peoples’ community of Fort McKay, through the lens of the life of former chief, Dorothy McDonald-Hyde.

Songs written and performed by Debbie Houle, Sherryl Sewepagaham and Maria Dunn with video by Don Bouzek of Ground Zero Productions.

On The River - Background and Show Description:

Fort McKay is located on the Athabasca River, just north of Fort McMurray, in the midst of major oil sands sites. The community has experienced tremendous changes since the 1950s. On The River explores these changes with song and video, telling this story through the lens of the life of former Chief Dorothy McDonald-Hyde.

In 1980, Dorothy McDonald-Hyde became the first elected female Indigenous chief in Alberta. She served several terms, during which she helped Fort McKay develop from a small cluster of houses without basic services into a self-sufficient community with full services. She also fought oil sands companies to protect the health and safety of her people. Later, she worked to set up the Fort McKay Group of Companies, creating employment to help the community benefit from the resource development already taking place.

On The River is a live performance that combines songs written by Asani and Maria Dunn (and performed on stage by Sherryl Sewepagaham, Debbie Houle and Maria Dunn) with video interviews from people who knew Chief Dorothy McDonald-Hyde.

More information: http://gzpedmonton.org/projects/view/on-the-river