Tom Jackson

One Arrow Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada

Biography

One of Canada's most popular actors and country folk singers, Jackson is also well known as an entrepreneur. He was born to Rose, a Cree mother and Marshall, an English father on the One Arrow Reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada. His family moved to Namao, Alberta when he was seven years old. He moved with his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba at age fourteen. A year later, Jackson dropped out of high school taking a life on the streets for seven years. From these humble beginnings, he rose to become one of Canada's favorite and most honoured First Nations performers. Jackson founded the annual Huron Carole fund-raising concerts in 1987 in order to support the Salvation Army. His most notable television appearances were on Shining Time Station (1989) as Billy Twofeathers and North of 60 (1992) as Peter Kenidi. In January 2000, he was named to the Order of Canada, that country's highest civilian award. Jackson was the Chancellor of Trent University from 2009 to 2013.

Movies

500 Nations is an eight-part documentary on the Native Americans of North and Central America. It documents from pre-Columbian to the end of the 19th century. Much of the information comes from text, eyewitnesses, pictorials, and computer graphics. The series was hosted by Kevin Costner, narrated by Gregory Harrison, and directed by Jack Leustig. It included the voice talents of Eric Schweig, Gordon Tootoosis, Wes Studi, Cástulo Guerra, Tony Plana, Edward James Olmos, Patrick Stewart, Gary Farmer, Tom Jackson, Tantoo Cardinal, Dante Basco, Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, Tim Bottoms, Michael Horse, Graham Greene, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Amy Madigan, Frank Salsedo, and Kurtwood Smith. The series was written by Jack Leustig, Roberta Grossman, Lee Miller, and W. T. Morgan, with Dr. John M. D. Pohl. "The truth is, we have a story worth talking about. We have a history worth celebrating. Long before the first Europeans arrived here, there were some 500 nations already in North America. They blanketed the continent from coast to coast, from Central America to the Arctic. There were tens of millions of people here, speaking over 300 languages. Many of them lived in beautiful cities, among the largest and most advanced in the world. In the coming hours, 500 Nations looks back on those ancient cultures, how they lived, and how many survived.... What you're about to see is what happened. It's not all that happened, and it's not always pleasant. We can't change that. We can't turn back the clock. But we can open our eyes and give the first nations of this land the recognition and respect they deserve: their rightful place in the history of the world." Kevin Costner

More info
500 Nations
1995