Each episode of the first season focuses on one of the seven Cree guiding principles, including love and truth
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Kokum & Dot
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When: June 21
Where: APTN
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Those of us who recall the classic children’s programming of the 1980s and 1990s will find a new North Vancouver-filmed kids’ show comfortingly familiar.
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Kokum & Dot has an intentionally nostalgic esthetic, says producer/director April Johnson.
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“It’s lower stimulation, more similar to Sesame Street with an Indigenous mandate, or Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, where you have an older adult who is calm, gives lessons and invites the audience into the experience.”
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The show mixes animation, live action and puppetry. Actor-musician Renae Morriseau (North of 60) plays Dorothy, a character based on Elder Dorothy Visser.
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Visser inspired the series, says Johnson.
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“During COVID, I took an online Cree language class taught by her. Over Zoom, she would sometimes show us the puppets she used when teaching children, and she just lit up. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this woman is so sweet.’ I wanted to honour her and preserve some of her language and cultural teachings.”
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The titular Dot is a puppet. Johnson created her with local puppeteer and ventriloquist Kellie Haines.
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“The puppet aspect really intrigued me. At the time, I was still a pretty green producer and director, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to work with children, but I thought, ‘I think I can work with a puppet.’” Johnson’s credits include working as a video-journalist for APTN and as an associate producer on Syfy’s 2022 horror comedy series Reginald the Vampire.
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Vancouver Island-based Calibrate Collective, headed by David Woodgate, does the animation, which incorporates Cree Woodland art.
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In the first season, each episode focuses on one of the seven Cree guiding principles. An animal is introduced to represent those teachings. For example, Episode 1 focuses on love, which is represented by the eagle. Episode 2 is about truth, represented by the turtle, and so on.
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“The themes are very universal,” Johnson says. “They’re rooted in truth, love, wisdom, courage, respect and honesty. I think those teachings will resonate beyond a Cree audience. There’s really something for everyone and for every age.”
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The show also teaches the Cree language, nēhiyawēwin. According to Statistics Canada, the various Cree languages and dialects have more speakers than any other Indigenous language in the country.
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“Teaching Cree is definitely one of our mandates,” says the director, who recently gave a TEDx talk, Reconnect with Your Inner Child Through Sakihiwaywin, on the importance of language revitalization. “We have prescribed learning outcomes, and each episode introduces new Cree vocabulary.”
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There is a poignant undercurrent in the show.
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“Something that younger viewers may not necessarily pick up on is that Dot represents Kokum Dorothy’s inner child before she attended residential school. Dot is short for Dorothy, so the interactions between Kokum Dorothy and Dot are actually a form of healing for her inner child.”
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Visser, in her late 80s, is very involved with the show, Johnson says.
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“She provides language and cultural support, and we love having her involved. She’s even visited us on set.”
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The first season is eight episodes. APTN has already asked for another season.
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“We were sending rough cuts and early cuts to APTN, and they just asked, ‘Hey, do you have any interest in a second season?’” says Johnson. “It took us by surprise because we were greenlit for Season 1 as a limited series. We were like, ‘Heck yes, more episodes. That’s great.’”
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That means no rest for Johnson and her crew.
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Filming is “pretty fast-paced,” she says.
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“We’re in the studio next week and we shoot two episodes a day, which is kind of crazy. That’s just the cost of having animation because animation is so expensive. We have to move things along very quickly in the studio and then add the animation later.”
