Albertan back from Disney's Wild West Show

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It's going to be hard to keep Terry Littlechild Muskwa home on the rez now that he's seen the bright lights of Paree.

The 22-year-old Hobbema band member returned home to Alberta late this fall after spending almost a year as a Disney Corp. employee at Disneyland Paris' Wild West Show.

"It was a great experience," he said.

The only down side, Muskwa said, was the high cost of living in the French capital. What seemed like a generous pay offer when he signed the contract in Alberta in September 1996, was actually small potatoes. That's something he wants to point out to others who might want to follow in his footsteps.

"I'm sure they'll be back in this area," he said of the Wild West Show's talent scouts. "All I can say is, you'll have the time of your life, but don't expect to get rich."

The pay for performing in two 90 minute-long shows a day, five days a week,

is $500 US plus a housing allowance that pays for about 75 per cent of the cost of an apartment rental in Paris, which is a half-hour subway ride away from the theme park. Payroll deductions reduce that $500 US to just below $400 Canadian, which might not seem bad until you realize that a bottle of beer sells for about 12 loonies.

Muskwa still managed to have a lot of fun, touring the bright lights of the Champs Elysee, checking out the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower and, of course, Planet Hollywood Paris, a night club where the French passion for things Aboriginal allowed Muskwa and his half dozen Cree co-workers to live the lives of minor celebrities.

"I never thought I'd ever be signing autographs," the rodeo bull rider said with an embarrassed laugh. "Indians are really big in Europe. The European people just want to see Indians. They never had that there."

Living in France was quite an adjustment for the young Ermineskin Cree. He knew some other Aboriginal riders from his home province had made the trip to Europe after signing a one-year contract, only to return home within a matter of weeks. He admits he had to battle home-sickness during the first month or so.

"It's hard at first. One minute you're in the world you know and then they send you to this planet called France," he said.

It might have been easier if he hadn't dropped French in Grade 8.

"I remember thinking, ''What the heck's a Cree Indian from Alberta going to do with the French language,'" he said. "But over there, I'd learned enough basic French to get along. If I fell in the Seine River, I'd know how to call for help."

The performers in the Wild West Show keep a schedule which resembles that of

a professional athlete. Muskwa and his fellow performers arrived for work at 4:30 p.m. They went through a physical warm-up for themselves and then they warmed up the horses. After that, it was time to put on the costumes and the make-up. The first show began at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 8 p.m. The performers then rested for the second show from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. by 11.:30 p.m. they were free to taste the delights of the city of lights.

They performed in front of a live dinner theatre crowd (the menu is western-style Texas barbecue) and Muskwa said the 1,100 seat theatre was almost always sold out. The show is typical 'oater' fare, cowboys and Indians with lots of shooting and war-cries and falling off of horses and stagecoaches. Muskwa said the show's management would encourage the performers to really beat themselves up to impress the customers.

"It's fun," he said. "How often do you get to paint yourself up, paint your horse up, just let loose with the war-cry? And you're riding with no saddles so it's all skill. It's a great show but I had a bit of trouble with management. For the stunts they'd pay you $8 US extra. That's not much money to risk your body by falling off a speeding horse. But some guys were willing to torture themselves."

He and his Cree co-workers saw a few things about the show that weren't exactly accurate, but Muskwa said the show's producers weren't al that interested in authenticity.

"It's their show. There were six or seven Crees in the show and we had some ideas, but they weren't interested. I wouldn't say they respected us as real Indians they just wanted to keep the customers satisfied," he said.

All in all, though, Muskwa didn't feel he was contributing to a stereotype by participating in the show. It was show business and a lot of fun and, unlike the old John Wayne movies, his people didn't always lose.

"We kicked some ass in the stagecoach scene," he said, grinning widely.

In his spare time, the Hobbema ex-patriate toured several European hot-spots. He made it to London, Brussels, Denmark, Amsterdam and parts of Germany. He even joined the European Rodeo Cowboys Association and rode in a competition in Germany.

Back in Hobbema, the Wild West Show veteran is upgrading his Grade 12 at Muskwachees Cultural College. His future plans include film stunt riding and pursuing a career on the competitive rodeo circuit. He's already had some offers to work in the film industry. Those offers came as a result of the exposure in the Wild West Show.