@ va Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca An unexpected mission on Mars > ‘Mars’ miniseries review Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist kkkk* he mission to Mars is one that takes a long time to prepare, and is still being prepared. It is a mission that many people wanted to be possible. Its purpose is to learn about the planet and find out if humans can live on it. While the mission is big, anything could affect it. Mars is about a space crew going to Mars to learn about the planet in the year 2033, and the miniseries goes back and forth between 2033 and present day, blending real-life interviews with the fictional future. It shows how we are getting to Mars today and those facts are put into the story in 2033. Produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Mars explores what could possibly go wrong in the mission and the many things that must be done to prepare for it. The story is narrated by Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton), who is the commander of the 2033 mission, and he describes how the mission will lead to discovery and go through challenges along the way. In the first episode, Ben tells the rest of the crew that the expedition is risky and that everyone may not make it back home when the mission is done. In the 2016 scenes, we see interviews with people from Elon Musk, who is the head of SpaceX; StarTalk’s Neil deGrasse Tyson; and various other people in the field of space science. The miniseries looks like a show that might be on Investigation Discovery. This means you are probably thinking that by the end of Mars, the space crew passes away and the mission is a failure, but hopefully that will not happen. The interesting thing about the show is that the 2033 scenes have interviews with the members of the space crew and they are presented as if the events actually happened. The real-life 2016 scenes are very informative and the people who are interviewed know their thing. DeGrasse Tyson does not appear a lot in the first episode, though he will probably be seen more in later episodes. The archival footage in the miniseries is similar to the archival footage in Ron Howard’s 2016 documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week. Getting to Mars is risky, because the crew has to do their tasks correctly to make sure that the mission is on the right track, and even though the equipment that they use is tested, it could malfunction at any time. For example, when the crew tries to land their ship, the Daedalus, on the planet, it malfunctions, so they work together to fix the problem and they make sure Historical atlas brings local First Nations culture to life > Std6:lo and Coast Salish lifeways detailed in ground-breaking book Greg Waldock Staff Writer Fes Nations history is an often- neglected field, even in British Columbia. The astounding diversity of culture around the Fraser River is something that goes unnoticed by most who live along it, even members of those First Nations. In 1999, a decision was made to rectify that. The result was one of the most comprehensive, detailed, and important examinations of a Native American group published in the 21st century. The St6:lo-Coast Salish Historical Atlas is a colossal effort to bring to light the lives and history of the people who called, and still call, this land home. The atlas was completed in 2001 and has a total of 14 authors, most of whom are lawyers, Aboriginal Rights advocates, and professors from the University of Saskatchewan, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and University of the Fraser Valley. It’s filled with historical and modern photographs of Sté:16 and Coast Salish towns, art, and people, supplemented by endless graphs of geological and demographical data. It’s an ethnographer’s dream: The amount of information is absolutely staggering. From the names and religious significance of mountains, to the historical migration of peoples up and down the Fraser River, to the impacts of residential schools on the population; everything is covered and backed with a scientific— yet passionate and caring—eye. The St6:16 live throughout the Fraser Valley, and are largely based in Chilliwack, where the book was printed. The Coast Salish are a much broader group spread along the coast and Vancouver Island, from Bella Coola to Seattle. Both groups can trace their ancestry and culture in the area back thousands of years, and this history is detailed in the atlas with maps of important archaeological sites and oral histories. From the late 1800s to the 1980s, the cultures of both Std6:lo and Coast Salish were actively stifled and repressed by a series of institutions, most notably by the residential schools program. The result of this startlingly-recent system of racism was that many First Nations people, especially youth, aren’t connected (¥ Music for all students and community ( TV writer talks about writing and the film industry (Y Great movies you have probably never heard of And more! Screenshot of ‘Mars’ to work carefully. Ben is injured when he is repairing the ship and the crew's physician, Amelie Durand, gives the rest of the crew specific instructions to keep him alive. While there is progress in making the mission to Mars a reality, there are still a few things that must be done to make it work—like improving the rocket that launches the ship to space, because in many tests, it explodes. When astronauts are on Mars, we will find out if humans can live on the red planet. Mars airs Monday at 6:00 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel, and will run for six episodes. Historical Atlas to their own heritage and culture. One of the principle aims of the Historical Atlas is to educate First Nations youth on their own history and inspire them to be more active in their communities. In a foreword to the book, Xwelixweltel, also known as Judge Steven L. Point, says, “It kills me when my kids come wv x a 3 o home and tell me they don’t want to be Native.” Though First Nations culture has been smothered for generations, the authors and contributors involved in the creation of the Sté:lo-Coast Salish Historical Atlas clearly believe we live in a time when it can be resurrected, remembered, and respected.