Nations at War

- Season 1

(2017)

For generations the First Nations of the Northwest coast lived in fear of the Haida raiders. From their island strongholds they would won slaves, wealth and glory at the point of a dagger. Giving rise to a dazzling golden age of art and architecture.

In 1858, rumours of gold drew thousands of gun toting American miners into the heart of the Fraser Canyon. A wave of greed which threatened the local Nlaka'pamux's very way of life. What followed was a forgotten war which decided the fate of British Columbia.

In 1885, Louis Riel and rebel Metis would stun the upstart Canadian government with a violent uprising. Dismissed and dispossessed, the Metis would fight to secure a place in their own homeland.

In 1812 the two biggest corporations in North America went to war over the riches of the west. Caught between them are two desperate peoples. The young Metis nation who called this land home and Highland Scots, driven to Canada by poverty and ethnic cleansing.

Once the Cree and their allies dominated the western fur trade. Sustained by the buffalo. By 1885, their decline meant disaster and starvation. Betrayed by Ottawa, who offered peace and food for land, the Cree would make a valiant last stand to save their people's future.

From their home in Europe's far north to the shores Greenland, the Vikings out carved kingdom at the point of a sword. However their dreams of a colony in Canada would meet a violent end. At the hands of the mysterious Skraelings, who refused to submit to this foreign invasion.

War in the forests of the Dawnland was fast, brutal and intimate. A lesson warriors of the Wabanaki Confederacy taught their British enemies. To turn the tide, the British turned to First Nations expertise to create a new type soldier for a new type of war: the Ranger.

Once the five nations of the Iroquois were bitter enemies. Until the Peacemaker's law bound them together. Stronger together, the Iroquois used commerce, diplomacy and firepower to destroy their enemies. And fight the French Empire to a standstill.

In 1812, the American army matched on British Canada. Facing impossible odds, General Isaac Brock needed allies to push back the invasion. He would find one in a legendary hero fighting for a nation of his own. Tecumseh.

Through the 18th Century, Nova Scotia was a prize fought over by the French and British empires. Caught in between, the indigenous Mi'kmaq nation would wage a guerrilla resistance for home and family. A brutal struggle against a genocidal British officers and lethal American Rangers.

In the 1730s, the horse's appearance on the western grasslands would change the Niitsitapi nations' life forever. Forming the Blackfoot Confederacy, the thunder of their hooves would usher in a violent era which would change the west forever.

In 1676, the Mohawks made an alliance with Great Britain, which would ensure through war and hardship. One hundred years later this promise would force the Mohawks to choose between a new nation and their old allies.

For over eight hundred years North America was a battleground. For territory, resources and survival the First Nations fought each and the European newcomers. A titanic struggle to decide the fate of a continent.