CALGARY — Independent production company Herd of 1 Media, based in Calgary, announced its new docudrama series Secret History: The Wild West will premiere on Canada’s national Indigenous network APTN in February.
The series (13 episodes x 30 minutes) will premiere on February 11 in the Blackfoot language and on February 13 in English.
Herd of 1 Media’s founder, Julian Black Antelope (pictured above, centre), is the series creator, showrunner, writer and producer. Known as an actor in such shows as Tribal and Blackstone as well as a film producer, Secret History: The Wild West marks his first television series endeavour as a producer.
Playing the role of the “Trickster” as host of the series, Black Antelope guides viewers through each hour-hour episode to uncover and rediscover the secret history of 13 notable Indigenous individuals who played an extraordinary part in shaping the Canadian West, including Jerry Potts, Calf Shirt, Red Crow, Poundmaker, Louis Riel and more.
The series showcases a talented cast of Indigenous guest stars in each episode, and filming locations include Bow River Ranch in Calgary and Fort Whoop-Up in Lethbridge.
“I grew up hearing about some of these people and their stories but wondered why there was very little information taught about them in school, so my goal with this project was to fill in the gaps and bring a seldom seen point of view through an Indigenous lens,” says Black Antelope.
The series is produced by Julian Black Antelope, Lars Lehmann and Laurie Venning. Directors for the season include a variety of Indigenous and non-Indigenous guest directors including directorial debuts from Berkley Brady and Black Antelope.
Secret History: The Wild West is produced in association with APTN, in participation with the Canada Media Fund, and with assistance from the Government of Alberta’s Screen-Based Production Grant and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.
