Esther is really a culmination of a lot of people’s stories. And although we only had three actual advisers with us the whole time, I had maybe 20 advisers that I worked with throughout the process who helped to inform her perspective and a lot of the PTSD that we were showcasing for her. I really wanted to create Esther’s mom, Golda, like my grandfather. You have to be a very open-minded, very special human being to have the storyline that Golda has. I didn’t expect my grandfather to pass away, to not see this. But that was created for him, to see that he was always one for a very difficult conversation and to argue it out, or debate it
of residential school, although there were things prior to that. I am a second-generation residential school survivor. Both of my grandparents went to residential school in Lebret in Saskatchewan. And terrible things happened at residential school. By design. Many survivors that we speak to—because I’ve worked a lot with survivors in my storytelling work—call it a chil- dren’s prison, and some call it an extermina- tion camp, because they were killing children. And we know that now, because—we always knew it—but we know it now because of all the children’s bodies being found. And then the last residential school closed in 1996. So we’re not very far removed from that dismantling of families. The reason that Indigenous people repre- sent the lowest outcomes when it comes to health and education, and the things that most of us take for granted, is because they’re still living very much in a colonial, violent state with very few rights. And that legacy continues. I don’t have the answers to how that is going to end, but I know a lot of it has to do with voting. I know a lot of it has to do with support and allyship and the education system. Because I don’t think we’re going to raise a very good generation of children if we don’t start figuring out ways to address some of the more devastating social real- ities, especially for Indigenous people who are at the lowest outcomes of all people, but for everybody.
that was at the intersection of Jewish and Indigenous identities. Who else knew all of that information like I do?
Rivka: You’re the perfect fit.
Jennifer: I’m like two consultants in one. So I wanted to humanize this story. I wanted to take the opportunity to explore the connec- tion between these cultures in a way that would uplift the Jewish values that I was raised with and honour my Jewish legacy, and also honour my Anishinaabe legacy.
Rivka: I don’t know if I want to use the word
Rivka: So, what is your challenge to those of us here? What do you wish to see?
Little Bird tells the story of the Sixties Scoop children—with a Jewish twist. Airing on Crave and APTN
Jennifer: You see it a lot in Saskatchewan, because there’s a very rich Jewish commun- ity and a very rich Indigenous community— often you’ll see those two peoples partnering to make social change. So I guess the call to action would be to lean towards being an ally and finding your common values towards dismantling system- ic racism, because it does start in education, it does continue into the workplace, and into other sectors. The thing that I’ve learned through my Jewish value system is, for me, it’s always to find the answer, to do what’s right and what’s good for the whole community. And what’s right for the whole community means that you can’t leave anybody behind. Because that’s how bad things happen. n
out, and see all the sides and the perspec- tives. He was very into survival. And to be into survival like he was, you have to find a way through stuff. So that was like Golda. A lot of my mother is in it. A lot of my own grandparents are in it. So it is a personal story that actually has nothing to do with me, if that makes sense. Rivka: It makes perfect sense. At the end of the first episode, there is a notation that kind of blew my mind. “There are more Indigenous children in custody today than ever.” And I just stopped and thought, how? Jennifer: So today we call it the Millennial Scoop, because there are more children in care today than ever before. And it is a direct connection to the impact mostly
parallel, but there are similarities between you and the main character of Little Bird , whose adoptive name is Esther Rosenblum, but was born Bezhig Little Bird. You are the grandchild of Holocaust survivors?
Jennifer: Of one Holocaust survivor.
Rivka: And Bezhig’s mother is a Holocaust survivor. So tell me, is she a particular per- son? How did she develop? Jennifer: She was created. The basis for her was me. When you create characters, it comes from a very personal place. So that started with the most personal stuff that I could share about myself with my writing partner, Hannah Moscovitch, and Jeremy Podeswa, and days and days of talking about that.
This conversation has been edited. To hear the full interview, visit thecjn.ca/little-bird
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