Four educated Aboriginal women talk about the deeper issues

A TV show that was born at a backyard wiener roast in Saskatchewan is in the process of busting out.

“I never expected it to go big like this. I think the sky’s the limit for this program. I see this as a national show,” said Wade Peterson, community programming manager for Access Communications. A second season is already in the works.

“The Four,” which has almost reached its midpoint for shows aired, features long-time friends Shauneen Pete, Bevann Fox, Robyn Morin and Shannon Fayant, tackling a wide-range of topics. The women are all Aboriginal.

“The concept … was a no-brainer for us,” said Peterson, who received the proposal about a year ago. “Four educated ladies, well-spoken, who didn’t really want to talk about the hot topic issues. They wanted to talk about life.”

“We were having a conversation one evening… and we started throwing around some ideas,” said Pete of how the show was developed. “We thought of all the topics we could imagine and I think we came up with 60. Just all those things we end up talking about anyway when we’re visiting with one another.”

Pete’s partner recorded the discussion on his cell phone and the women decided to pitch the concept as a television show. Fox began shopping it around, including contacting networks in the United States. Access Communications, which has as its mandate community programming, picked it up.

Twelve one-hour long episodes were filmed for the first season, with the first episode airing Jan.  21.

“We held a premiere viewing … we had over 120 people here. We were really surprised. We kind of thought 30 or 40 people would show up. There were a large number of people who were our colleagues, in our community and certainly our families were present, too,” said Pete, who serves as an assistant professor in Aboriginal education at the University of Regina.

The show has garnered interest from the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, women and men, some from the U.S. and some from other provinces. Responses have been positive and numerous through social media.

Peterson thinks “The Four” has caught on because the topics are universal. There’s a mix of humour and seriousness, the women have good chemistry, and the show is inspirational for all women.
“We’re committed to digging deeper. We’re really hoping we reach some folks in our community who might not have started to have those deeper conversations about what motivates them, or how they heal, or those kinds of things,” said Pete.

It has been a growing experience, she says, especially learning to balance being who they are but setting boundaries.

“Our first show was really about fears and our own discussion about being our authentic selves on camera came out as part of that discussion,” she said. “We set some boundaries, too, so that we aren’t overly exposed in some ways. We’re still professionals here, we’re mothers and we have families, so we’re still cautious about our own boundaries at the same time committing to be authentic.”

The women, who range in age from their early 30s to their mid-50s, all have been single mothers at one point in their lives, and all have university degrees. Fox, who is a residential school survivor and in her 50s, just completed her undergraduate degree. All have connections in the Fort Qu’appelle area. Pete is from Little Pine First Nation. Fox is originally from the Piapot First Nation and the Pasqua First Nation. Morin, who is Fox’s daughter-in-law, and Fayant, are both Métis.

“We’re also very different personalities in a lot of different ways,” said Pete.

But while they offer varying perspectives, the one view they share is that Aboriginal women are under-represented when it comes to leadership roles. Not only are they showing that women are capable by being able co-hosts, they show that leadership is there by showcasing an Elder and interviewing a young woman, who balances her university studies with her social activism.

“The Four” has gone on the road to film at powwows, on-reserves, and the First Nations University of Canada, as well as doing studio segments.

Pete says being in front of a camera is new for all of them. They now have a different outlook on the television industry in general and community programming in particular, being in charge of putting make-up on their guests, “mic-ing them up and getting them ready to go.”

With community television, said Peterson, Pete and her fellow co-hosts/creators “have editorial control, the freedom to explore what they need… They shape and form the show….Ultimately, the content is the heart and soul of what these ladies want to talk about.”

“It’s exciting to think about a second season and with that original list we had of all the topics, there’s so much more to say,” said Pete. Season two is scheduled to air January 2015.

Photo caption: Co-hosts of “The Four”: (clockwise from seated) Bevann Fox, Dr. Shauneen Pete, Robyn Morin and Shannon Fayant.