Beach assembles indigenous programming

Actor Adam Beach spearheads aboriginal content onlineCanadian film and TV star Adam Beach says he's leased 10 channels from an online broadcast company and hopes to provide a slate of indigenous programming by and for the aboriginal community.

Beach says the venture with the New York-based OpenVision Networks is in early stages but that he's already stocked his channels with Canadian fare including the defunct APTN drama Moccasin Flats and his old Showcase comedy, Moose TV.

"This is where we as native people are now taking our own control of our work," Beach said in a recent phone interview from his home in Los Angeles.

"Basically, what I provide is, any native director or artist (that has) any native media sitting in their library somewhere, they send it to me and I put it on the network for free and we're worldwide."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Adam Beach at G2E 2008 and Beach to Produce Native Movies.

Below:  "Actor Adam Beach, seen in 2007, is working on an online broadcast venture featuring aboriginal programming." (Stuart Ramson/Associated Press)