“My sanity depends on my ability to be nomadic. So, wherever I set up shop, whether it’s Montreal, Toronto or Los Angeles, I’ll get there, find a place to live and look around on the Internet for outreach places. And I’ll phone them and ask them if they need volunteers. Usually, the first person that phones back, I’ll go do volunteer work for them.”

(Eric Schweig, c 2009-2010)

Mohican Press: Would you describe yourself as a private person?

Eric Schweig: Yep!

Mohican Press, 1998

Eric Schweig and Dakota House – One Dead Indian (2006)

In September 1995, members of the Stoney Point Native community gathered in Ontario’s Ipperwash Provincial Park to protest a long-standing ancestral burial ground claim. In the end, protester Slippery George was almost beaten to death while Dudley George was shot dead by Ontario Provincial Police officer Kenneth Deane.

Eric Schweig, Dakota House – One Dead Indian (2006)

One Dead Indian is a gripping and timely television drama about this story, one of the most politically-charged events in Canadian history, followed by 10-year campaign to seek justice for the death of native protester Dudley George. The tragic story, based on Peter Edwards’ book One Dead Indian: The Premier, The Police and the Ipperwash Crisis, focuses on the Ipperwash Crisis, the tragic 1995 incident whose aftermath reverberated from Dudley George’s family and community to the halls of Queen’s Park. The movie, filmed in an area near Montreal in Quebec, stars Dakota House as Dudley George and Eric Schweig as Dudley’s brother Sam.

Pamela Matthews, Sam George, Eric Schweig, Dakota House

The real Sam George drove to Montreal in a motor home from Stoney Point (near Sarnia, Ontario) with honourary family member attorney Murray Klippenstein and ten other members from the George family, including three grandchildren. The vehicle broke down near Cornwall but that didn’t stop them from getting to set, after a quick repair job at a nearby mechanic’s shop. They were determined to see at least part of the making of One Dead Indian, a fictionalized version of the reality they’ve been living with for the past ten years. Sam George said he believes the film will touch people all over Canada, and that: “they would want to know this story”.

Eric Schweig, Dakota House, Gary Farmer – On Dead Indian (2006)

When the “two Sams” met, the real Sam George and Eric Schweig, who plays him, emotions ran high. The real Murray Klippenstein engaged in long talks with the actor who plays him, Stewart Bick; and Sam’s grandsons Cody George, Jerad Storr and Cameron George were all smiles when they met Dakota House, the actor who plays their uncle, the deceased hero Dudley George. Actor and activist Gary Farmer (who plays Judas George) also greeted Dudley and Sam’s brother, Sam’s wife Veronica George, his daughter Tammy Jackson and his son Don George. A great admirer of Sam George, Gabrielle Miller was honoured to have her picture taken alone with him for her own personal photo album. The energy on set was electric that day.

The interpretation of Eric Schweig in the role of Sam George is natural, true and moving. I must say that all the actors deliver a great performance in this film. The scenes in the court of  justice are punctuated by flashbacks of what happened a year earlier, and by personal memories of Sam about his brother Dudley. Dudley’s death is particularly shocking, especially when arriving at the hospital by car, where members of his family – who are trying to save him by calling for help  – were instead arrested and handcuffed by police, while Dudley is unconscious in a pool of blood on the back seat. Another touching scene of the film is delivered by Eric Schweig, while Sam performed in the hospital a tender purification ritual on the body of his brother Dudley.

Although the film denounces the slippage in police intervention at Ipperwash and the double standards justice, it does not fall into the Manichean stereotypes. It covers in relevant way the tensions between the First Nations and the Canadian authorities about land claims.

One Dead Indian

2006

Director: Tim Southam

Writer: Hugh Graham, Andrew Wreggitt

Stars:  Dakota House, Eric Schweig, Pamela Matthews, Bruce Ramsey, Stepen McHattie, Gary Farmer, Glen Gould, Gordon Tootoosis, Jennifer Podemski.

Kateri Walker and Eric Schweig – Kissed by Lightning (2009)

Kissed by Lightning is a remarkable tale of spiritual awakening, sets in deepest winter in the woodlands of Canada. The film is multi-dimensional and multi-layered; it’s a love story symbolically based on the 14th Century Iroquois legend of Peacemaker and Hiawatha.

Mavis Dogblood (Kateri Walker) is a heart-broken Mohawk painter who keeps the memory of her dead husband, Jessie Lightning (Michael Greyeyes), alive in her paintings, through the recreation of the stories he would tell her.  She struggles to move on, but when an upcoming art exhibition in New York requires Mavis to embark on a road trip, she finds herself faced with the difficult task of letting go.

Mavis has a potential lover waiting for her to absolve her grief: her good friend Solomon «Bug» King (Eric Schweig). The new man in her life patiently waits for her to resolve her emotional struggle. He goes with Mavis to help deliver the paintings in New York for her solo exhibition. During the trip, they meet many characters who help Mavis starts chipping away at her wall of grief.

In the role of Solomon King, Eric Schweig offers an excellent performance as an actor. He appears about 10 minutes after the beginning of the film. His character is a musician (like Jessie) with a quiet and loving temperament. Due to an accident just before leaving for New York, Solomon must take painkillers that make him extremely drowsy. There are several scenes, including a very funny one at the U.S. Customs, where Eric Schweig sleeps almost everywhere. But in one of his lucid moments during the trip, Solomon declares his love to Mavis while exposing all his fragility.

Eric Schweig’s interpretation of Solomon in the film consists of a happy mix of funny facial expressions, as he often does in the show Arbor Live, a retained intensity like his Pike Dexter in Big Eden, and a very sweet attitude like Samuel in Mr. Barrington. In this film, we also have the privilege of hearing Eric Schweig sing! A pleasant surprise.

Solomon and Mavis are beings full of goodness who share a great tenderness for one another. But at the first appearance of Eric Schweig in the film, we understand that Solomon is madly in love with Mavis. Solomon, however, keeps a respectful silence about his feelings towards his friend in mourning. After Solomon’s accident, Mavis takes care of him and they both sleep together as brother and sister in the sofa bed of her small studio (we understand that this situation would not be so easy for Solomon if he was not under the influence of strong painkillers!). The two protagonists have vivid dreams and visions related to Iroquois legends, and perceive the ghosts of their ancestors. In one of the visions of Mavis, Solomon and Jessie even become Peacemaker and Hiawatha.

Kissed by Lightning (2009)

During the trip to New York, Mavis and Solomon also visit the shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha to deliver prayers for Jessie’s ex-wife. She had also asked them to stop at Jessie’s mother’s home to give her a picture of her grandson, whom she has not seen in many years. Mavis was reluctant to do this since she had never met her mother-in-law, but Solomon managed to convince her. Mavis and Solomon find the home of Jessie’s mother, Josephine (Monique Mojica). Mavis and Josephine bond almost immediately and Mavis confides in her mother-in-law about the struggles she has been having since Jessie’s death. Josephine helps Mavis see that she needs to let go of her grief and allow Solomon more fully into her life.

Finally, in one of her visions, Mavis finally said goodbye to Jessie. When Solomon found her in tears, she opens her heart to him, takes him in her arms and they kiss lovingly. They go hand in hand at the opening reception of Mavis exhibition. We see among visitors the ghosts of Iroquois ancestors contemplating her paintings with satisfaction. Mavis is at last happy and at peace.

In 1998 Shelley Niro began the script for “Kissed by Lightning.” From start to production it took 11 years for the movie to be finished and was well worth the wait. The story is beautiful with stunning visuals. The tone is quirky and humorous with music that is hauntingly beautiful and an important part of the film experience. Shelley Niro’s paintings, the 12 portrait series of the Peacemaker’s Journey, are also a wonderful addition to the movie. The characters have depth and the viewer can identify with them.

Kissed by Lightning

2009

Director: Shelly Niro

Writer: Ken Chubb

Stars: Kateri Walker, Eric Schweig, Michael Greyeyes, Rachelle White Wind Arbez, Wesley French, Monique Mojica, Sean Baek.

Kissed by Lightning Trailer

An Onkwehonwe in Kanata 

Eric Schweig – Tom and Huck (1995)

“Tom and Huck” is a Walt Disney film realized in 1995 by Peter Hewitt. Based on the book by Mark Twain, it tells the story of a particularly mischievous boy, Tom Sawyer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas). Tom witnesses a murder by the deadly Injun Joe (Eric Schweig). Tom becomes friends with Huckleberry Finn (Brad Renfro), a boy with no future and no family. Tom has to choose between honoring a friendship or honoring an oath because the town alcoholic is accused of the murder. Tom and Huck go through several adventures trying to retrieve evidence.

Eric Schweig – Tom and Huck (1995)

The film opens with Injun Joe accepting a job from Doctor Robinson (William Newman). It is to dig a corpse to retrieve a map leading to a treasure. We see immediately that we better not mess with Injun Joe, because he does not hesitate to threaten his client to require more money to do the dirty work.

Eric Schweig offers a high level of performance to interpret this ugly character, so much so that at times he even gets a little too scary for a Disney movie for children. I’m especially thinking of the murder scene of Dr. Robinson, where Injun Joe runs with such a fury that it seems kind of offset from the rest of the film. If Tom Sawyer had nightmares about Injun Joe, young viewers of the film may undoubtedly have nightmares about him too.

Eric Schweig – Tom and Huck (1995)

The makeup team has also done a great job to make one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world (People magazine) in a particularly dirty, ugly and nasty character, which foreshadows the future Pesh-Chidin in “The Missing” (2003). In 1995, Schweig is also overweight and this adds to his imposing stature. With a particularly disgusting denture, Schweig changes his voice to refine the transformation.

Eric Schweig – Tom and Huck (1995)

After the murder of Dr. Robinson, Injun Joe did not hesitate to accuse an innocent man in his place and goes in search of the witness to the crime, Tom Sawyer, while he recovers the famous treasure: a chest full of gold coins. The confrontation between Injun Joe and Tom Sawyer is one of the best scenes of Eric Schweig on the screen. The intensity of his performance and the fury in his eyes are simply amazing.

Eric Schweig – Tom and Huck (1995)

Even though this is a movie aimed at a young audience, “Tom and Huck” is in my opinion one of the best movies of Eric Schweig with “Big Eden.”

Tom and Huck

1995

Director: Peter Hewitt

Stars:  Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Eric Schweig.

Eric Schweig – “Follow the River” 1995

In this period film, made in 1995 by Martin Davidson, Eric Schweig plays the role of a young Shawnee Indian chief named Wildcat. He co-starred with actress Sheryl Lee, who plays the role of the heroine, Mary Ingles, a true character in the American History.

The story takes place in the 18th century in the United States and is based on the novel by James Alexander Thom. The film begins by showing Will Ingles farm in the Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and his harmonious family life with his beloved wife, the beautiful Irish Mary, along with her step- mother, Mary’s younger brother and sister and his son Thomas. Mary is several months pregnant and one morning, she feels a strange premonition. A few hours later, the farm is attacked by Shawnee Indians, while Will and Mary’s brother went away to work on their land.

 
The Shawnees capture Mary, her son and her younger sister. During the long walk through the forest to the village of the Shawnees along the Ohio River, Mary feels that her husband is still alive and will starts looking for her. This thought gives her an unshakable courage to face the situation. Wildcat then noticed not only the beauty of Mary, but also her strength and determination to survive. When Mary stumbled on a rock, Wildcat rushes to help her. Their eyes meet and we see the obvious attraction of the young Indian chief for the beautiful Irish woman. Meanwhile, Will Ingles brings men to go in search for the captives.

Sheryl Lee and Eric Schweig – “Follow the River 1995

While the group of Shawnees and prisoners continue their journey in the forest, Wildcat shows real concern for Mary, although he remains unforgiving for any sign of weakness on the part of his prisoners. So, when she has just given birth to her daughter at the foot of a grove of trees, he invites Mary to stand up and continue walking. Gathering her strength and still shaky, Mary obeyed, knowing that the only way to survive her captors is to show her strength. Conquered by Mary and her courage, Wildcat suddenly begins a humorous interlude, imitating a Shawnee mother during childbirth. This amazing scene, which clashes somewhat with the rest of the film, shows Eric Schweig perfectly comfortable with comedy and mime.

When the group arrives at the village of the Shawnees, Mary and her sister are well received by Wildcat’s mother. Some French settlers crossing the village, including a trader named Laplante, confirms to Mary that this gesture is a clear mark of the high esteem in which Wildcat carries her. Then Laplante hires Mary in his shop to make clothes, while his young Indian wife takes care of Mary’s baby. Although she adapts to the situation and welcomes with gratitude expressions of interest from the young Indian chief, Mary confirms to her younger sister, who now doubts the love of Mary for her husband, that she hates their captors and plays their game just to survive, with the aim of one day return home. Thus, when Wildcat offers her to marry him and raise her son as his own, she reminds her seductive captor that her son already has a father. In revenge for this refusal, Wildcat sells Mary and some other captives to the French settlers, keeping the son of Mary with him.

For the second part of the film, we do not see Eric Schweig again on the screen, except for the final scene. This second part shows the incredible journey of Mary, who fled into the forest with an old German woman, also sold to the French settlers by Wildcat. Equipped with only an ax and a blanket and following the river, the two women remake the perilous journey back to the farm of Mary. They are found in extremis by English settlers, half dead from hunger and cold. Mary and Will are finally reunited, their love still alive and intact.
In the final scene, a few months later, we see Wildcat arriving at the Ingles farm with Mary’s two children. He has brought them back safely to greet her incredible courage.

This film made for television by Hallmark Home Entertainment was shot almost entirely outdoors (Sapphire, North Carolina). Although it does not have the resources of a large production (the costumes are fairly rudimentary), the actors are well directed. Lee and Schweig show a strong bond on the screen, especially in the famous scene where Mary takes Wildcat’s measures to make him a coat, while he offers to become her companion.

The script, the shooting and the music of “Follow the River” sometimes refers to the movie “The Last of the Mohicans” in which Schweig played three years earlier. “Follow the River” is an epic of one woman’s grit, loyalty and determination and an “inspirational” saga of a pioneer woman.

Follow the River

1995

Director: Martin Davidson

Writer: Jennifer Miller

Stars: Sheryl Lee, Ellen Burstyn, Eric Schweig, Tim Guinee, Renée O’Connor, Tyler Noyes,  Tony Amendola.

“That’s when you really start to appreciate bowls of soup – getting a bowl of soup during the day, a hot bowl of soup, when I was homeless in Toronto, where it’s 40 below zero in the winter time. You get a bowl of soup, that’s like God.”

(Eric Schweig, A Year of Soup, 2013)

“Cluster F-Bomb: Eric Schweig is known for his coarse language and dropping a few of these while on set when he can’t get his lines right. Or in every day conversation for that matter. Curse Cut Short: Eric Schweig does this to himself when he is being interviewed and knows he has to watch his language. Sir Swears-a-Lot: Again Eric Schweig is notorious for his foul language. ” TvTropes

© Mona Thrasher

Born Ray Dean Thrasher, adopted at the age of six months by a German / French family, Eric Schweig has mentioned in some occasions what were his ties with his biological Inuit family. He mainly talked about his mother, Margaret Thrasher, and about his “Inuit, Portuguese and German” roots in an interview for Windspeaker in 2003. The “Portuguese” part of these statements has intrigued me, so, I did some research to clarify this point.

The archives of “Eric Schweig Rose and Joni’s Fan Site” mention that the Inuit painter Mona Thrasher is Schweig’s aunt. It is known that the paternal grandfather of painters Mona and Agnes Thrasher was indeed a Portuguese whaler. Margaret Thrasher and Eric Schweig could therefore have the same ancestor as Mona and Agnes Thrasher.

Also, an article in Inuvik Drum in 1993 mentions a meeting between Schweig and Agnes Thrasher: “Than one day in Vancouver, where he now lives, he met Willie Thrasher on the street. The two got talking and before long Schweig realized he must be related to Thrasher. He said Thrasher hooked him up with his Aunt Agnes in Williams Lake, B.C. in the hopes of finding his [biological] mother. But three days later, his birth mother died and he was too late“. It seems here that Agnes knew Margaret well enough to help Schweig find her. Were they sisters? Cousins​​? Mona, Agnes and Margaret Thrasher all lived in Inuvik and Yellowknife. Agnes Thrasher has also lived in British Columbia. The filiation between Eric Schweig the artist, and Mona Thrasher the artist, seems then perfectly plausible. So, here is a brief description of this famous member of Ray Dean Thrasher’s family.

Mona Thrasher, Inuvik, 1982

Mona Thrasher is a Northern Canada Artist, well known throughout Canada’s Northwest Territories. She was born on February 24th, 1942, in a bush camp in the Mackenzie Delta between Aklavik and present day Inuvik. At 13, a hunting accident left her partially deaf and mute. A shotgun blast went off near her head and since then she has not been able to hear or speak. But she was always a bright spirit and very smart.

Her father’s name was Billy Thrasher, and he worked a trapline. He was the son of a Portuguese whaler, who came to the Arctic during the last century. He used to sketch on a piece of paper, just drawing here and there. He drew with pencil and he used to keep pencils until they turned to nothing, right to the end. Her mother, Alice, was an Alaskan Inuit and Billy’s second wife.

At the age of 10, Mona Thrasher left her family’s log cabin to attend the Aklavik Roman Catholic Mission School, where she remained until the age of 17, returning home only during the months of July and August. After the hunting accident, she continued at the Mission School, communicating through written English.

Mona Thrasher began taking art classes in her early teens and was encouraged to pursue her artistic interests by Sister Leduc and by such instructors as Father Adam, Bishop Dennis Croteau and Bern Will Brown. The same year her father died, when she was 18 in 1960, Father Adam invited her to paint the Stations of the Cross in the newly constructed Igloo Church in Inuvik. Since that time, she painted more than 800 oils and pastels.

Mona wrote “I enjoy painting different scenes of the Eskimo life of my forefathers. Igloos are a things of the past, dogteams are on the way out, seal hunting has almost become a sport with people, but the very fact that I paint those scenes reminds people that not so long ago, men lived that way and survived amidst hardship and found happiness in a climate whose harshness is unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

© Mona Thrasher

You will notice that my basic colors are whites and blue because that is the way my country appears to me. It is made of blue sky and blue water. Even the snow which covers the ground for 9 months out of 12 has a bluish tint on account of the semi darkness.” Mona Thrasher moved to Yellowknife in 1990 and stayed there for the rest of her life. She died April 1^st, 2013.

Sources:

Deaf Culture Centre, The Visual Arts, p. 338.

Joanne Carolyn McNeal, Western Arctic Women Artists’ Perspectives on Education and Art, University of British Columbia, June 1997, pp. 271-276

Eric Schweig was listed as number 29 in People’s Magazine’s 1993 amongst the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

“Eric Schweig Fan Blog” on WordPress has now upgraded its subscription to avoid advertising in its posts. Happy reading!

Cerina Vincent and Eric Schweig -It Waits (2005)

It Waits is a 2005 American horror film starring Cerina Vincent. The film is about a female forest ranger, Danielle St. Claire,who encounters a terrible creature who has been killing people in the remote national forest where she works. When the creature attacks her isolated ranger station and kills her forest ranger boyfriend, she goes after the creature.

In this horror film, Eric Schweig plays a small supporting role. He appears only 5 minutes, 1 hour after the start of the film, and speaks throughout these 5 minutes. His character, Joseph Riverwind, a university professor in archeology “wearing Ralph Lauren”, is also looking for the creature, which his Aboriginal students have unfortunately released at the beginning of the film by blowing up the entrance to a cave. Riverwind gives valuable information to Danielle about this demon and the shamans who have accidentally summoned it from another world hundreds of years ago and then locked in this cave.

Eric Schweig -It Waits (2005)

A few hours later, we find the unfortunate professor Riverwind impaled by the creature on a wooden branch in the middle of the road. The creature in the film is modeled after the Wakinyan or thunderbird that appears in myths from the Dakota people of North America., It Waits was filmed in November 2004 on location in the Watershed area about 25 miles east of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

Eric Schweig -It Waits (2005)

Eric Schweig -It Waits (2005)

Eric Schweig -It Waits (2005)

It Waits

2005

Directed by Steven R. Monroe

Written by Richard Christian Matheson, Thomas E. Szollosi, and Stephen J. Cannell

Stars: Cerina Vincent, Dominic Zamprogna, Greg Kean, Eric Schweig.

Margaret Thrasher at Caribou Carnival – mid-1980s

In the early 1990s, at a time when he reach fame, Eric Schweig was finaly able to track down his birth mother. The history of this dramatic quest was told in the Inuvik Drum and Cariboo Observer newspapers.

“The name given to him at birth was Ray Thrasher. But at 6 months, he was adopted by a German father and French mother. His father was in the Navy and they moved from Inuvik to Bermuda. Schweig said his adoptive grandmother told him who his birth mother was. Than one day in Vancouver […] he met Willie Thrasher on the street. The two got talking and before long Schweig realized he must be related to Thrasher.” Inuvik Drum, 1993.

Following this amazing discovery, Willie Thrasher called his sister Agnes to say he had found her son she had left for adoption about twenty years earlier. An appointment was arranged and Eric Schweig went to Quesnels (British-Columbia) to meet Agnes. If the meeting was warm, Agnes had doubts from the beginning about her affiliation with Eric Schweig. After verifying with the adoption agency, it was indeed found that the famous actor was not the son of Agnes, but the son of her sister Margaret, who lived in Yellowknife. We can imagine the frustration that may have felt Eric Schweig while receiving this information, as he was emotionally and psychologically prepared to recognize Agnes as his biological mother.

“When she told Schweig about the mixup, he didn’t take it well. He got pretty upset. He had been looking for his mother for so long and he wasn’t very happy about not having found her. Schweig made plans to travel up north to Yellowknife to finally make the connection. Then, two days after he got the news, his mother, Margaret Thrasher, died of a massive heart attack in Yellowknife.” Cariboo Observer, October 13^th 1993.

« Schweig said he had a strange feeling that he might never meet his mother after a dream he had when he was 18. In the dream he was walking towards a house where he could see a woman that he knew was his mother, but when he was 5 feet from the open door it slammed shut. “I was crying when I woke up…it was so vivid”, Schweig said. » (ID)

If this sad turn of events is surprising, it is even more astonishing to discover that a book about Margaret Thrasher (and other northerners) was published in 1989 by the Toronto publishers James Lorimer & Company. Written by Douglas Holmes, this book compiles 24 profiles of people in the Northwest Territories, including one about Margaret Thrasher, titled “Town Drunk”. It is not a pretty story, since “Holmes detailed the sad alcohol-sodden life she had, her runnins with the law, her binges, her poverty.” (CO) But people had a lot of respect for her because she encouraged the homeless population to get involved in the community by helping keep the downtown area nice. “Margaret Thrasher ran also for mayor in the City of Yellowknife and was known for her kind heart and for helping homeless people.” (CO)

Margaret Thrasher was a big woman, with a red face and a loud voice. Her Metis husband was a small and timid man who usually walked a few steps behind her. They both lived in an old one-room shack in Yellowknife. They did not remembered exactly when they were married, but it was sometime in the 1970s.

Margaret was born in 1947. Thrasher’s mother, an Inuk from Alaska, and her father, a Portuguese fisherman and whaler, raised their family in the communities of Aklavik and Inuvik. Thrasher went to catholic mission schools there and learned to sketch and paint, like her famous sister, the artist Mona Thrasher. As a teenager and in the 1960s, she lived in Edmonton before returning north sometime in the early 1970s.

Alice Thrasher, Agnes Thrasher Langston and Margaret Thrasher, 1960s

See also this poem about Margaret Thrasher by Indio Saravanja.

Eric Schweig – Inheritance (2015)

A high stakes mystery/thriller starring Blackstone’s Eric Schweig, INHERITANCE is an interactive “Pick Your Path” web series (ie Choose-Your-Own-Adventure) inspired by a legend of hidden Native treasure. Currently pitching for financing, the series would be a blend between a live-action narrative series like “24” and a video game like “The Walking Dead: TellTales”, and at the end of every 2-3 minute episode YOU must decide what to do next. The web of possible scenarios quickly becomes an allegory that cuts to the heart of current land claim issues and reconciliation for unceded First Nations territory. Who’s right, who’s wrong, and who is deserving of what. Violence, arbitration, or concession – you decide. Only one thing is certain: no one decides what they inherit.

Inheritance Facebook Page

Eric Schweig at the 2014 Annual Dude’s Health Fair, Vancouver (Canada) © The Dudes Club.

Throughout his career, Eric Schweig was involved in various community organizations. In 2014, he participated in the “2014 Annual Dude’s Health Fair” in Vancouver (Canada), organized by The DUDES club.

The “DUDES Club” provides events and activities that focus on the spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of wellness in men residing on the Downtown Eastside (Vancouver). It focuses on connecting men with health care professionals and other support services, as well as instilling a sense of solidarity and empowerment within the community.

The DUDES’ Club is committed to carrying out its stated objectives in an inclusive, non-judgmental and holistic way. Underlying the three main objectives is an ongoing emphasis on the importance of respect, brotherhood, equity and spirituality in helping men feel more complete.

Eric Schweig at the 2014 Annual Dude’s Health Fair, Vancouver (Canada) © The Dudes Club.

The DUDES’ Club is committed to dialogue, collaboration and teamwork in all what they do. It recognizes that trauma, addiction, poverty, social marginalization and chronic health issues affect many of the native men and it works to address the structural factors that have a destructive impact on the overall health of men in the community.

Health topic discussions are driven primarily through peer-support facilitated by Elders, guest speakers, physicians, psychologists and street nurses.  Moreover, gatherings are accompanied with hot meals, activities and haircuts organized by the Dudes’, building a sense of brotherhood, solidarity and spirituality.

The DUDES Club

Eric Schweig – Blackstone (2015)

Blackstone is one of those series you may have missed or dismissed. It faces challenges getting audience attention: Canadian, airs on APTN, and set on a First Nations reserve. Blackstone turns its camera on a community and shows it, warts and all. There are no “noble but tragic Indians” here — just the tragedy.

Blackstone could be any rural town in Canada, laden down with high-employment and its associated poverty problems. If you grew up, or even just spent time, in outport Newfoundland, a mining town after the company left, or any other similar location, Blackstone is going to have a familiar feel. As will the characters, from the down-and-outs to the where’re-they-getting-all-that-money? Nearly every aspect of Blackstone is familiar like that. Because Blackstone is not about Aboriginal people. It’s about people. Human beings in desperate, often tragic, but real, life.

Eric Schweig – Blackstone (2015)

Blackstone is unabashedly First Nations, don’t misunderstand me. And you will learn about the issues, same as with those other shows, because Blackstone doesn’t shy away from them either. It tears off the bandages, picks off the scab, and shows you the wound. You see the despair behind the substance abuse, and the results of it. You learn enough about residential schools to see how their impact is still being felt, how the program destroyed lives and communities. You get some history of land claims and how the government treats First Nations. There’s water problems, housing issues, government audits, conniving oil companies. You’ll learn some Cree, even. Blackstone doesn’t lecture though. It neither excuses nor condemns, it simply presents. It gives you just enough of a look at the reality of reserve-life to send you googling for more détails.

Eric Schweig – Blackstone (2015)

Above all, Blackstone is simply fantastic television: top notch ensemble acting, excellent direction, and riveting storylines. It’s gritty and gripping. Blackstone deserves a place alongside all those specialty channel dramas: The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire, and The Killing. It is not just good Canadian television — it is excellent TV period. Unfortunately, it was announced on Monday that this will be the fifth and final season for Blackstone although the door is still open for perhaps a movie, or maybe something else. The new season starts on Nov. 3, which means you have plenty of time to watch the first four seasons. And the great news? You can see them all free online at APTN.

Eric Schweig – Blackstone (2015)

Excerpts from the article by Jeff Rose-Martland | HUFFINGTON POST

Eric Schweig – Red River (1996)

The movie Red River (Les amants de Rivière-Rouge) is a French film directed by Yves Boisset, with Christophe Malavoy in the lead role of Monge and Eric Schweig in the secondary role of Napoleon. The film was acclaimed in Europe when it was released in 1996.

The adventurer Monge and his Métis friend Napoleon stop at Red River to sell their horses. Captivated by a farm girl, Hannah (Claudia Koll), Monge decided to settle there. Napoleon did not understand that the love of a woman can compromise their friendship. A violent fight broke out, and Napoleon left alone to the mountains. But years later, Napoleon returns to Red River and Hannah falls in love with him. The young woman being pregnant, Hannah and Napoleon run away. Furious, Monge goes in search of Hannah and Napoleon throughout the Rocky Mountains. When he finally finds them after many months, a surprise was awaiting for him…

Claudia Koll and Eric Schweig – Red River (1996)

This romantic story, shot in the same landscape as the movie Legends of the Fall, has several timeouts (the length of the film is 3 hours) and the chemistry between the actors seem difficult sometimes, probably because during the shooting, some declaim their lines in English and others in French. There are however some exciting scenes, like the one where Eric Schweig is fighting against a bear, the famous «Bart the Bear» (an Alaskan Kodiak bear appearing in several films).

Eric’s interpretation of Napoleon is honest, although he revealed in an interview for Mohican Press he did not really likes this movie, especially the scene where Napoleon is killed by Monge, adding that “it’s the most horrible death scene that I’ve ever done.” During the shooting of the film in 1996, Eric Schweig still sported his characteristic long hair and, despite overweight, was still as much photogenic on screen.

Between his two films released in 1996 (Red River and Dead Man’s Walk) and his wonderful interpretation of Pike Dexter in the film Big Eden in 2000, Eric Schweig experienced the longest break in his film career (4 years).

Red River

1996

Director:  Yves Boisset

Writer: Michel Leviant

Stars:  Christophe Malavoy, Eric Schweig, Claudia Koll