It is #IndigenousHistoryMonth and this is the story of actor, singer & humanitarian Tom Jackson!
Tom Jackson was born on the One Arrow Reserve near Batoche, Saskatchewan on Oct. 27, 1948.
After moving to Winnipeg when he was 14, he dropped out of school a year later.
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For the next few years, he lived on the streets but began to gravitate towards folk & country music in the Winnipeg coffee houses.
By the 1980s, he was playing at festivals throughout Canada and his songwriting often explored Indigenous issues.
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He soon began acting and in 1986, earned a Genie Award nomination for his role in Loyalties.
By the end of the decade, his singing & acting career had taken off.
He achieved national fame with his role as Peter Kenidi in the critically-acclaimed show North of 60.
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He continued to act throughout the 1990s and beyond with roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Spirit Rider, Cold Pursuit and more.
In his career, he has earned multiple Gemini Award nominations, won two Junos, 11 honorary degrees & the Order of Canada.
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He is also well-known for his philanthropy and his Christmas concert, Huron Carole, which raised millions of dollars & collected tons of food for food banks around Canada.
He continues to help people who live on the streets, or are below the poverty line, to this day.
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During the fur trade era, the Red River Jig emerged as a dance that blended European step-dancing with the traditional dances of the First Nations.
Over time, the dance became an important part of Metis culture.
Let's learn more!
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The origin of the Red River Jig is believed to be a combination of the dancing of the First Nations, French-Canadians and Scottish-Canadians.
The dance tended to be complex, with the foot never rising higher than the ankle.
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Many fur trade clerks made sure to learn the Red River Jig so they could perform it alongside their trading counterparts to show friendship and an acceptance of other cultures.
Competition among dancers could be fierce during these performances.
On this day in 1980, six American diplomats, travelling with valid Canadian passports, escaped Iran.
They were hidden for months by Canadians, who played a massive role in their escape.
Let's learn the real (not the Argo version) story of The Canadian Caper.
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Amid the Islamic Iranian Revolution in 1979, people stormed the US Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979. Dozens of diplomats were captured and held hostage.
They demanded that the Shah of Iran come back to the country and face trial.
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Six American diplomats were able to escape from the embassy. For six days they went from house-to-house. One of the diplomats, Robert Anders, contacted Canadian immigration officer John Sheardown (pictured). Sheardown invited them to stay in his home.
On this day in 1700 CE at approximately 9 p.m. PT, an 8.7-9.2 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of present-day British Columbia.
The Juan de Fuca plate slipped by 20 metres along 1,000 km fault rupture.
Let's learn more about this event
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While there are no written records of the earthquake, much of what happened has been related in the oral histories of the First Nations.
The exact time and day comes from the record of a tsunami that hit Japan hours after the earthquake.
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One oral history tells of an earthquake and ocean wave that destroyed settlements in Pachena Bay. On the north end of Vancouver Island, the oral history states there was a nighttime earthquake that destroyed nearly every home in the settlement.
In the summer of 1970, a CNR train journeyed across Canada. On that train was a non-stop party and jam session consisting of Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Band, Ian & Sylvia, and others who took part in the Festival Express.
Let's learn more!
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When the Transcontinental Pop Festival, better known as the Festival Express, was being planned there were planned concert stops in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
The festival was developed by Ken Walker and promoted by Eaton-Walker Associates.
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The train consisted of 14 cars that included two engines, one diner, five sleepers, two lounge cars, a baggage car, two flat cars and a staff car.
The first stop was planned for Montreal at the Autostade on June 24, 1970.
Over the course of centuries, Canadian English developed as its own distinct form of the language.
It takes elements from French, First Nation languages and United States English to form something completely unique.
Let's learn more about Canadian English!
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There are several varieties of Canadian English.
There is Standard Canadian English, spoken from British Columbia to Ontario.
There is also Quebec English, Atlantic Canada English, Newfoundland English and Indigenous English.
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Standard Canadian English is defined by the cot-caught merger, a chain shift of vowel sounds called the Canadian Shift and the Canadian Raising feature. That feature makes words like height and hide have different vowel qualities.
Today is Winnie-The-Pooh Day. It commemorates the birthday of A.A. Milne, who wrote Winnie-the-Pooh.
But without Canada, there would have never been a Winnie, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, or the Hundred Acre Wood.
Let's learn more about Winnie the Pooh and Canada!
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On Aug. 24, 1914, a train stopped in White River, Ontario on its way to Camp Valcartier in Quebec. The train contained members of the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps. One soldier on that train was Captain Harry Colebourn.
He was on his way to serve in France.
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While he was stopped in White River, a trapper came up to Colebourn and offered to sell him a bear cub. Colebourn bought the bear for $20. He named the bear cub Winnie after his hometown of Winnipeg.
The bear became his companion all the way to England.