Regina filmmaker is busy on a new television project

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Filmmaker Candy Fox is shedding light on Canada’s untold history.

She is a director and producer currently working on Treaty Road, a new show airing this fall on APTN.

“I’ve directed for other documentary series, but this series has a certain personal importance to it.” Fox has also written and directed her own short films, like ahkameyimo nitanis (Keep Going, My Daughter), a poetic look into the life of a young Indigenous family.

Treaty Road is a six-episode documentary series that explores the extensive and often overlooked histories of Treaties one through six. Each hour-long episode focuses on individuals and communities that reveal what it means to live with the effects of Treaty in the present day.

“[The hosts] speak with experts, Knowledge Keepers, Elders, historians, grassroots advocates, about the Treaties, the history and the current climate today,” said Fox.

The show’s two co-hosts are Erin Goodpipe and Saxon de Coqc.

Goodpipe, from Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation, is a long-time television host and theatre artist. de Coqc, a Métis writer and producer, was inspired to develop the show when he found out his ancestor James McKay was involved in the signing of the Treaties.

“I discovered that initially for the first six Treaties, he was a translator,” said de Coqc.

Fox was invited to join the production team because of her distinctive approach to storytelling.

Viewers, however, will have to wait until later this year to see Fox’s creative influence on Treaty Road.

“Candy and I worked together on another show,” said de Coqc. “I thought would be perfect to direct this. She just has the right vision and the right demeanour.”

Fox, a member of Piapot First Nation, is from Treaty 4 Territory.

According to both Fox and de Coqc, once the crew arrived in Treaty 4 Territory, filming the episode was an impactful experience for everyone involved.

“One of the themes is education with Treaty 4 and that’s close to my heart,” explained Fox.

“I attended school here at First Nations University [of Canada] and my family was also impacted by residential schools,” said Fox. “I’m a generational survivor of residential schools. There’s a lot of significance in terms of stories that relate to Treaty and how it impacted my own family. I think we were able to touch on some of that with episode four and I really hope that comes across.”

If all goes well with season one, Fox would like to explore Treaty further through a second season.

“If we are able to continue on in the future with this series, it would be great to focus on contemporary treaties,” said Fox. “As well as un-ceded land and what that means to those who are from those territories.”

Treaty Road is for all audiences.

“Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can benefit from watching it,” said Fox. “It’s learning what our history is, as people on these lands… there’s a lot of injustices that are still happening to this day. The Treaty promises are not being held up, and never were.”

The show will take viewers on a journey through communities across the prairies in search of truth about Treaty and what it means to people living in Treaty territory.

By delivering this knowledge to the public, Fox and the rest of the production team hope the audience can understand the complex relationships between Indigenous and settler communities, at the time the Treaties were signed as well as in the present day.