Power to the People is a multi-season TV and Web documentary series that discovers how indigenous people, values and wisdom are guiding the way to a sustainable, clean energy future. Thirteen half hour episodes in each recurring season deliver emotive, indigenous inspired stories that demonstrate how renewable energy is empowering communities towards a post carbon future.
Power to the People is expertly guided by on camera host and internationally acclaimed Cree environmentalist, Melina Laboucan-Massimo. As one of North America’s leading voices on climate change, each episode introduces Melina to fascinating real life characters, communities and companies engineering new world solutions to old energy problems. Through the visionary leaders, technologies and experts she meets, Power to the People takes us inside revolutionary wind, solar, tidal, housing and food security projects, de-mystifies the science and examines the positive social and environmental impacts.
In Canada’s pipeline fueled energy argument, images of placard-waving protesters and Indigenous opposition come to mind when Canadians think of Oil Sands and the expansion of pipelines. However, in Canada’s renewable energy sector, visionary Indigenous communities are raising their voices not in opposition but in support of an environmentally sustainable, post carbon future.
Welcome to Power to the People, a multi-season TV and Web documentary series that takes you inside revolutionary renewable energy initiatives – wind, solar, tidal, biomass, geothermal – to see how they’re generating clean power for Indigenous communities across Canada. And it’s not just renewable energy that’s empowering these communities. Thirteen half hour episodes in each season discover an exciting frontier of sustainable living alternatives – food sovereignty, green transportation, net zero housing – all being shaped by indigenous values, cultures and communities.
Driving each episode of Power to the People to its informative, enlightening and entertaining conclusion is host and internationally renowned climate change activist Melina Laboucan-Massimo. As a member of the Lubicon Cree Nation in northern Alberta and a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, Melina has experienced firsthand the impact of the Oil Sands on her traditional territory and people. She is a rising star in the international environmental movement and a much sought after speaker on the future of alternative energy. Melina’s passion and curiosity drive the story telling for each episode while her staunch advocacy for mother earth gives Power to the People a righteous tone that ensures the series is emotive and compelling. As the host of Power to the People, her unique background, knowledge and cultural insight allows a broad national audience to see how and why renewable energy and sustainability is the key to our planet’s future.
Premiered nationally on APTN, February 2020