Life’s a Beach for Adam, and that’s good

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This article was published 10/03/2011 (5673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba-born Adam Beach is more anxious to talk about his gig in Edmonton Friday co-hosting the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards than his recent big-screen turn alongside Hollywood legend Harrison Ford in the yet-to-be-released movie Cowboys and Aliens.

In his world, there’s acting and then there’s activism — one is his job, the other is his passion.

“Yeah, he’s a cool guy,” Beach offers reluctantly, when asked about Ford during a recent interview from his home in Los Angeles. “I mean, he’s Indiana Jones, right? He’s Han Solo. He’s embedded in the brains of movie fans.”

Beach plays Ford’s right-hand man in the movie, which also stars Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde. The quirky plot revolves around a group of Apache Indians and western settlers who patch up their differences and join forces when an alien spaceship crash-lands in their city. It’s scheduled for release in late July.

On Friday, Beach will resurrect one of his favourite roles during the awards ceremony at the Jubilee Auditorium when he and his co-host — and former co-star — Evan Adams rekindle the magic of their 1998 movie, Smoke Signals, about two young American Indians who leave the reservation to resolve their problems, and to find themselves.

“They wanted us to reprise our characters in the movie, which is probably the film everyone loves most in Indian country,” says Beach. He was happy to oblige. The movie, which was told from a native perspective, received critical acclaim and won several awards, including the Filmmaker’s Trophy at that year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Beach says it’s that “native perspective” that is largely absent from meaningful political and social discourse, which makes the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards so critical. “The awards are so important because our people need role models, they need heroes, and they don’t realize there are heroes right in their own backyard.”

The actor would have to be counted among them. He has experienced unspeakable tragedy in his life but refuses to look at himself as a victim. Beach, 38, grew up with his two brothers on the Dog Creek First Nations Reserve at Lake Manitoba. His mother was killed by a drunk driver when he was eight years old and his father drowned less than two months later. He and his brothers were sent to live with his grandmother for a time but eventually moved in with an aunt and uncle, his father’s brother, Chris Beach.

His acting career began when he started taking drama in high school. He earned a number of roles in local theatre productions as a result, and eventually dropped out of school to take a lead role at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

Since then, he has amassed an impressive portfolio. His movie credits include Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, and Windtalkers with Nicolas Cage. On TV, he’s been on Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; Walker, Texas Ranger; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Big Love, and, more recently, had a guest appearance on Hawaii 5-0.

He has lived in Los Angeles for the past two years, but still makes frequent trips to Canada to visit family, and to work with aboriginal youth. Recently, he took part in a conference on social justice in Winnipeg, speaking to teenagers from dozens of high schools in the area about “creating a new outlook on life.”

Says Beach: “For 150 years, people have been telling us not to be Indians, and for the next 150 years we are going to teach them how to be Indians.”

On Friday, 14 recipients will be honoured, including Fred Sasakamoose, the first aboriginal to play in the NHL, 2010’s Miss Indian World Teyotsihstokwathe Dakota Brant, and Corrine Hunt, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medal designer.

The show will be broadcast nationally April 9 on Global TV and APTN. Performers include Cree-Canadian country singer-songwriter Shane Yellowbird, who won Rising Star of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards in 2007, Juno Award-winning Digging Roots and Canadian rock singer Lucie Idlout. There will also be an excerpt from the award-winning contemporary dance piece Tono by Red Sky Performing Arts.

“I love the idea of being a part of a national show that rewards true leadership and shows aboriginal people who are excelling in their own passion,” Beach says.

 

— Postmedia News