Little-Known History Plays Out in Little Bird

Published on October 30, 2023

Based on a true story, the six-part drama, Little Bird, explores universal themes of resilience in the face of trauma and loss. It follows Bezhig Little Bird (Darla Contois) as she embarks on a path to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her family history. The series is the product of a wealth of Indigenous talent both in front of and behind the camera. The Nine PBS broadcast premiere is Thursday, November 2, at 9 pm.

Removed from her home in Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan, Bezhig Little Bird is adopted into a Montréal Jewish family at age five, becoming Esther Rosenblum. Now in her 20s, Bezhig longs for the family she lost and is willing to sacrifice everything to find them. Her search lands her in the Canadian Prairies, worlds apart from everything she knows. As she begins to track down her siblings, she unravels the mystery behind her adoption and discovers that her apprehension was connected to a racist government policy, now known as the Sixties Scoop. Bezhig's sense of identity shatters, and she is forced to reckon with who she is and who she wants to become.

The recent winner of the coveted Audience Award at the 2023 Series Mania Festival in Lille, France, Little Bird was filmed in and around Winnipeg, in Brokenhead Ojibway Nation on Treaty 1 territory and in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

“It is a powerful narrative that not only engages and pulls on your heartstrings, but also educates on a profoundly disturbing time in North American history that is rarely portrayed,” said Germaine Sweet, managing director, content acquisitions at PBS Distribution.

Now streaming on Nine PBS Passport, Little Bird: Coming Home is a 90-minute companion documentary that explores the connections between the ground-breaking movement for Indigenous narrative sovereignty and the impact of the child welfare system as experienced through the series’ Indigenous creatives, crew, and Sixties Scoop advisors.

Episodes of Little Bird will stream on ninepbs.org and the PBS App for a limited time; after which time they will be available via Nine PBS Passport and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel, with subscription.

Thursdays, beginning November 2, 9 pm on Nine PBS and livestream.

Episode Guide

Love Is All Around | Nov 2 | 9 pm
Bezhig Little Bird, her sister, and brother are ripped away from their mother by police to be put up for adoption. Now, 18 years later, Bezhig, renamed Esther Rosenblum, doesn’t feel a sense of belonging in her comfortable life.

So Put Together | Nov 2 | 10 pm
Esther finds her adoption papers, and a news clipping that evokes memories of the Long Pine Reserve, before she was adopted. Determined to learn more, she uproots her life, sacrificing everything in search of her family and who she is.

The Land That Takes You | Nov 9 | 9 pm
Patti Little Bird is desperate to get her kids back, but she doesn’t know where they have been taken. Eighteen years later, Bezhig/Esther is desperate to find her family. Both women are lost, tangled in the exact same place, decades apart.

Burning Down the House | Nov 9 | 10 pm
Esther finds members of her family who help her put together the pieces of the past. She returns to Montreal to confront her adoptive mother about the revelations that shine a light on their life and change the way they look at the past.

I Want My Mom | Nov 16 | 9 pm
Esther returns to the prairies and continues her pursuit of uncovering her past. Reconnecting the severed ties of a broken family is not easy. When tragedy strikes, Esther realizes that she needs her mother, Golda, more than anything.

Bineshi Kwe | Nov 16 | 10 pm
The Little Bird family comes together to mourn death and celebrate life. Esther and Golda are both changed by this journey of self-discovery, but it has strengthened their bond. Esther has finally found what she’s been looking for.

Schedule is subject to change.