I have a three year old who is obsessed with PBS kids. She is also a big fan of “Molly of Denali”. The cartoon is produced by both Canadian and American production companies and tells the story of Molly, a young Indigenous girl. Molly and her family manage a trading post in Denali, Alaska and she uses social media platforms to share her experiences. The animated show links technology and representation and has recently won Canada’s Youth Media Alliance’s 2021 Awards of Excellence and represents
A young Canadian Indigenous student from Emily Carr, Lia Fabre-Dimsdale, has secured an internship with the animated TV show. Fabre-Dimsdale is a member of the Liidlii Kue First Nation and landed an internship with Mitacs, a “not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada and offers a number of internships to Indigenous students”(Ryan , 2021).Fabre-Dimsdale is enrolled at Emily Carr and finishing her Bachelor of Media Arts. Her main focus is working on storyboarding and design.
Fabre-Dimsdale is excited to be working on the project, she believes, “A lot of times, Indigenous characters are presented simply for the fact they are Indigenous. Having Molly who is adventurous and enthusiastic in her own right, while also connecting with her culture and community is a great balance” (Ryan, 2021). Molly of Denali also reflects what we have been covering so far, the link between representation in media and indigeneity. I also visited the PBS site and under the Molly of Denali link, there are games, activities, games and a podcasts. This provides extension for children to experience life in Alaska alongside Molly and her family. Even though the show is geared toward younger children in primary grades, I think practicing visual and media literacy skills on an episode would be a great way to analyze representation.
Ryan, D. (2021, May). Animation internship offers opportunity to broaden Indigenous representation on screen. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/animation-internship-offers-opportunity-to-broaden-indigenous-representation-on-screen
Thanks, Mandy! Whether it be books, computer games, or TV shows, students can benefit from learning about other children in different areas of the world. On one hand, they can learn about those different than themselves, and on the other hand, it provides on opportunity for some students to see themselves in the literature and in the media.
I also saw “Molly and Denali” and I thought to myself how this PBS show offers a positive Indigenous perspective on mainstream television. I like how it is targeted at youth so they have some characters that can identify with that have Indigenous values.