Students from Our Lady of the Way, Donald Young, Crossroads, and Mine Centre schools gathered in the Manitou Rapids gymnasium on Friday morning to hear from film and television star Gordon Tootoosis.
“I want to share with the young people that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and are willing to work hard,” Tootoosis had said in an interview a week before making his appearance in Rainy River District.
And, by telling the story of his life and experiences growing up on the Poundmaker reserve in Saskatchewan, that’s exactly what he did.
The students, teachers, and community members most widely recognized Tootoosis from the CBC TV series “North of 60,” where he starred as Albert Golo for six seasons.
He also has co-starred alongside celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Sir Anthony Hopkins, lending his talents to many well-known films like “Open Season,” “Reindeer Games,” “Alaska,” “Pocahontas,” and “Legends of the Fall.”
But before he got involved in acting, Tootoosis related how he grew up in the residential school system.
“I was nine years old when I started kindergarten,” he told the youngsters. “We weren’t allowed to speak Cree and had to learn to speak English quickly.”
He wasn’t able to go to high school until he was 21 years old when his education was sponsored by Indian Affairs.
“I attended a high school in Saskatoon that was focused on the arts,” he said, noting he was the only native student in the school.
“I was an artist, but took a drama class and that’s how I got involved in theatre,” he recalled. “If you want to become an actor, start in theatre—it’s a good foundation.”
From there, Tootoosis auditioned for his first movie “Alien Thunder” in 1971 and won the role of “Almighty Voice.”
Although he noted it wasn’t a great movie, since it was made in Canada and Canada can’t support movies like the U.S. does, he said it was a good experience.
In his personal life, he got married, had three daughters, and adopted two boys. He now has 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“Then without realizing it, I had become an alcoholic,” he remarked. “Back in the ’60s, there were all kinds of drugs and I was involved in the arts . . . I got addicted to drugs and was pretty messed up.”
Tootoosis started to get a bad reputation in the film industry for his behaviour and not showing up to work on time.
“I’m not ashamed,” he told the students. “Alcoholism is a disease—it’s hereditary. My father was an alcoholic and my daughter became one.”
He went to two treatment centres over 10 years to get clean and sober. Then, he went to the States to continue working as an actor.
“It wasn’t until then that I was able to work in Canada again,” he recalled, stressing young people should not even think about experimenting with drugs.
“You or someone close to you will get hurt,” he warned.
Tootoosis also taught the students about the importance of language and its spiritual connection.
“The toughest thing about being an actor was speaking English the way I was expected to speak it,” he said of his second language.
He explained he feels people don’t believe in the spirituality of language anymore.
“And that’s not right at all . . . I don’t have to research, analyze, and dissect a frog or a tree to know it’s alive,” he remarked, saying he felt a spirituality at the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre that he hasn’t felt in a long time.
“You are the generation who is going to have to grasp [the spirituality] again . . . or it’s not going to exist anymore.”
In addition, Tootoosis spoke about dreams and overcoming obstacles.
He recalled a career day back in high school where each student wrote an essay about their dreams and aspirations. His was about becoming a professional actor.
His teacher selected his story as an example of what not to do, telling him he had to have dreams that were attainable.
“I said to myself, ‘Just watch me,’” he said. “When I did my first American movie, I wished that person was still alive to see it. It was a long haul, but I did it struggling with language and racial barriers.”
But Tootoosis had more barriers to overcome in his personal life. His son-in-law was into drugs and committed suicide. Shortly after that, his daughter was diagnosed with cancer and died.
The couple’s four children now had no parents, so Tootoosis and his wife took in their grandchildren.
“It was a very difficult time in my life,” he admitted. “But my father always told me the hurdles are there for a purpose, but don’t let those barriers discourage you.
“And that’s what I did every time.”
He stressed it’s very important to know who you are and accept who you are.
“It doesn’t matter your colour or the country your ancestors came from . . . we’re all people,” he said. “Without skin, we’re all the same.”
He told the students he’s enjoyed all the film and television work he has done and continues to share his talents.
“I don’t audition anymore—I moved back to Saskatchewan and the opportunities still come knocking,” he said.
The students were able to ask Tootoosis questions, as well as getting photos will him and autographs.
Former NHL star Gino Odjick, who also was scheduled to speak to the students on Friday, didn’t make it due to a problem with his flights.
As a last-minute fill-in, Rob Horton, a social policy analyst and Lakehead University Master’s student, reiterated several of Tootoosis points.
“I think it was a very good presentation and the students seemed to enjoy it,” enthused Harvey Cochrane, who helped organize Friday’s event. “I’m really glad Gordon was able to come and speak to our youth.”
Later that day, Tootoosis joined hundreds of district residents at the 36th-annual Manitou fish fry at the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
