Anne with an E

Anne with an E

Season 3 of Walley-Beckett's Anne with an E introduces a Mi'kmaq character, Ka'kwet, straying from the well-known storyline in an attempt to create a more inclusive narrative. In an effort to not simply come out with "another whitewashed version of history," Tracey Deer, a Mohawk screenwriter, was "hand-picked...to co-write the third season" (Walley-Beckett, as quoted by Dutt, 2019, n.p.). Ka'kwet, played by Kiawenti:io Tarbell, a Mohawk actor, is introduced in the first episode of the season, "A Secret Which I Desired to Divine," and a friendship soon blossoms between herself and Anne (they are, after all, kindred spirits) in episode 3, "What Can Stop the Determined Heart."

Anne, under the impression that all schools are equal, helps convince Ka'kwet to enroll for the residential school. She even gifts her a dress to wear on the first day of school as Ka'kwet is getting ready to depart, in episode 4, "A Hope of Meeting you in Another World." We see Ka'kwet's excitement as she embarks on her journey, but soon we are pulled "into a dark side of Canada's history" as Ka'kwet, Anne, and the community gain an awareness of the horrible conditions at residental school (Dutt, 2019, n.p.). Although we do get to see Ka'kwet run away from school and find her way back to her family in episode 9, "A Dense and Frightful Darkness," Ka'kwet clearly struggles to fit back in with her community. Later she is tracked down by school officials and forcibly returned to school. The last we see of Ka'kwet, she is still in custody at the school while her parents camp some distance away while they try to figure out how to get her back.

Unfortunately, Anne with an E was not renewed for a fourth season so we never find out what happened to Ka'kwet. Her open-ended plight, however, is still a stirring depiction of the history of residential schools. Brandon Oakes, a Mohawk actor, who played Aluk, Ka'kwet's father, was first hesitant about accepting the role since he wasn't sure whether an outsider could accurately portray these events, but admitted that "Moira was open to conversations about how we approach things" (Dutt, 2019, n.p.). Having Tracey Deer co-author the season also helps lend authenticity to the script.

Works Cited:

Dutt, A. (2019, November 21). Anne with an E explores Mi’kmaq First Nation history in P.E.I. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/television/anne-with-an-e-explores-mi-kmaq-first-nation-history-in-p-e-i-1.5368108