Copyright © 1997 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

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North of 60's Tina Keeper

PERFORMING ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT IN CANADA,
Vol XXX NO. 1 Winter `95/96

Cover Story:
NORTH OF 60'S TINA KEEPER

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"THE ACCIDENTAL ACTRESS"

Against the onslaught of American television, and such massive successes as Friends and ER, it's become rare for anything home grown to strike it big with Canadian TV viewers. But the dramatic series North of 60 has persevered and in its fourth season on the CBC, it's a genuine hit.           by Shlomo Schwartzberg

Created by Wayne Grigsby and Barbara Samuels, and filmed in Calgary, North of 60 is set in the fictional town of Lynx River, in the Northwest Territories. Lynx River is portrayed as a community which has been declared dry in an attempt to deal with alcoholism, and North of 60 portrays that reality and other issues affecting the native (South Slavery) Dene population residing there. Racial prejudice, government neglect and the attempt by the town to set up a native-run business, are some of the issues the show has handled in a gripping and provocative fashion.

For Tina Keeper, the soft-spoken Cree actress who plays native RCMP policewoman Michelle Kenidi, an alcoholic single mother, who has to tread a fine line between law enforcement and the suspicions of her neighbors who don't trust the police, North of 60 has only improved since the show "killed off" Corporal Eric Olssen (John Oliver), the burnt out white Vancouver cop who had relocated to Lynx River.

"To me, the focus went from an outsider's point of view to just being immersed right into the community and its relationships," says Keeper. "We've always had some of that and I think that's how the show started [but] in season three, all of a sudden you didn't have your outsider anymore."

Even though there's a new white officer, Brian Fletcher (Robert Bockstael) in town, North of 60 has kept its focus on the natives, including singer/actor Tom Jackson as Michelle's brother Peter. His character began the series as the tribal chief, only to lose his job in an election. Such native stars as Graham Greene and Tantoo Cardinal have also made guest appearances on the show.

"What I find interesting," says Keeper, "is it's so rare that you ever see anything, any film or television show, where your protagonists are native. If you're going to do their story, it's always [with] a lead white man."

The subtle change in the series is vindicated by North of 60's strong ratings, adds Keeper. "The audience has been so receptive to it. I think it's because [it shows] Indian people as people and [shows] their relationships and how they deal with one another and how they deal with all the issues they have to deal with."

Remarkably enough, for someone who comes across as so accomplished in the show, the Winnipeg-born thirtyish actress had no prior experience before North of 60. "I was a university student and I hadn't planned a career as an actor.

I did a degree, a double major in theatre, because I love acting, and also in history. I was thinking of either doing a masters in history or a masters in education. I had a background of working in schools a lot. I wasn't quite decided."

Her friendship with writer Jordan Wheeler, who went off to work on North of 60, changed her career path. "They were looking for people to audition and so he told them about me. I got this information and they said to first send a demo tape; I didn't know what that was. It was a real shock and I sent this tape off, never expecting to get it, and then I got the role." Jokingly, she calls herself "the accidental actress. I don't know how that happened."

Even with that kind of luck, Keeper didn't expect the series to last very long. "I remember the first season when we were shooting and before we went to air, just thinking, `Well, how are people going to receive this show? There's nothing like this on television.'"

To the criticisms that North of 60 could be grittier and less politically correct, Keeper responds emphatically: "Most of mainstream Canada doesn't know much about Indian people and I think they have deeply embedded stereotypes about who we are and that's why people can say it's not gritty enough, because of those stereotypes. Certainly those things exist amongst our people but there are also people in our communities who are very much like the people on North of 60, our movers and shakers, who are sober and planning their future. So maybe we don't have enough of the drunken Indians that people might want to see. I think here's a show that for once represents Indians as people."

Native response to the series, whose scripts are vetted by Dene experts for authenticity, has been fantastic. "The Native community embraces the show like nothing you could imagine. It is their show and it's just overwhelming how the Native community has responded to the show, it's so positive." Keeper, who has been nominated for two Gemini Awards, is even being recognized by fans, some of whom are from American Indian communities who catch the show off satellite.

One criticism that she does get from her people is the series' lack of fun. "Indian people are much funnier than they are [on North of 60]. Humor is such an integral part of our culture. That's the only criticism I get."

As for her future after the show inevitably goes off the air, Keeper has a few ideas in mind. "What I would prefer to do is try and develop another career (perhaps making documentaries on native issues and history) where I don't have to rely on being an actress. It's a really insecure business, and I have two children, and there's many other things I want to do."

Shlomo Schwartzberg is a freelance writer whose work also appears in The Financial Post and The Montreal Mirror.