Going Native
GOING NATIVE is a light hearted and occasionally comedic Canadian documentary series hosted by Drew Hayden Taylor. It debuted in early 2021 on APTN (Aboriginal People's Television Network). Season One consisted of 13 half hour episodes. The series focuses on presenting Indigenous culture as a living, evolving way of life. Stories range from covering traditional Native and Inuit concepts that have impacted contemporary life in ways that people may not be aware; to discovering cutting Indigenous people and ideas that are changing the world and challenging mainstream ideas about founding cultures. Each episode contains 3-6 fast paced segments. On the strength of the first season in test screenings, the show was renewed for a second season in September 2020, several months before the first season debuted.
- 2020-2021
- 1 season
- Reality
GOING NATIVE is a light hearted and occasionally comedic Canadian documentary series hosted by Drew Hayden Taylor. It debuted in early 2021 on APTN (Aboriginal People's Television Network). Season One consisted of 13 half hour episodes. The series focuses on presenting Indigenous culture as a living, evolving way of life. Stories range from covering traditional Native and Inuit concepts that have impacted contemporary life in ways that people may not be aware; to discovering cutting Indigenous people and ideas that are changing the world and challenging mainstream ideas about founding cultures. Each episode contains 3-6 fast paced segments. On the strength of the first season in test screenings, the show was renewed for a second season in September 2020, several months before the first season debuted.
Season 1 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 2021
Episode 1
Going Horse
Drew Hayden Taylor seeks to learn the indigenous story of the horse by meeting a daredevil family of Indian Relay racers, encountering a Navajo Horse Whisperer, and by exploring unique wild horse sanctuary in the foothills of the Rockies.
Episode 2
Going Architecture
After exploring Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park and its 800-year-old Pueblo cave dwellings, Drew then reveals how cutting-edge indigenous architects are drawing lessons, and designs, from their own tribal past.
Episode 3
Going Pop Culture
Drew uncovers how First Nations artists are pushing the boundaries of pop culture when he meets up with professional zombies, axe throwing and legend-morphing film directors, and native video games designers.
Episode 4
Going Gourmet
Bannock: native treat, colonialism, or both? From traditional farming to award-winning native wineries and food trucks, Drew is dining all-indigenous.
Episode 5
Going Music
Drew finds out why by creating some "beats" with a native Hip Hop DJ, then meets a genre-bending Metis jazz star, a symphony percussionist, and a legendary First Nations rocker and Bluesman.
Episode 6
Going Fashionable
Drew Hayden Taylor brushes up his fashion skills as he jumps into the world of indigenous fashion with a series of the hottest young designers, as well as a one-of-a-kind turquoise jeweller in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Episode 7
Going Artsy
Drew enters the fascinating world of contemporary Native art. A life-sized whale made out of plastic lawn furniture? Inuit wall murals in Canada's biggest city? Movie posters with an indigenous spin? West Coast art combined with graffiti?
Episode 8
Going Business
Drew visits Canada's newest urban reserve, meets a Metis sash maker drawing his inspiration and works from indigenous South Americans, and witnesses how Aboriginal venture capital is opening doors.
Episode 9
Going Sacred
From an incredible "Spotted Lake" in British Columbia to a sacred waterfall in Washington State, Drew explores the people, ideas, and hallowed spaces linked to Aboriginal spirituality.
Episode 10
Going Bush
Drew reveals an amazing indigenous-survivalist-past when travels to the Canadian Rockies. There he learns to live with no tools or shelter, and visits an ancient tribe still salmon net-fishing off the cliffs of the Washington State river.
Episode 11
Going Storytelling
From the stage to the written page to the traditional campfire, Drew explores the role indigenous storytelling plays in myth-making, theater, and in keeping native culture alive and well.
Episode 12
Going Athletic
Drew explores a unique northern trapper festival, gets beaten soundly in an ancient Cree martial art, and then hits the pavement with an Apache skateboard team in Arizona.
Episode 13
Going Beyond
Drew gazes up at the stars above, and explores the petroglyphs and secret ruins all around us, as he reveals how indigenous peoples from New Mexico to the Canadian wilderness have understood astronomy for centuries.