01x01 - Grandpa’s Drum/Have Canoe, Will Paddle

[bunniefuu]

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

(laughing): Whooo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪

♪ She is ready to explore ♪

♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪

♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪

Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪

♪ Always by her side ♪ And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors ♪

♪ On adventures day and night ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ Through fields of fireweed ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ From tundra to the sea ♪

Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪ Yeah!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Let's go! ♪

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

MOLLY: "Grandpa's Drum."

♪ ♪

Hmm, the poster for our show

turned out pretty well, Tooey.

Did you find any headbands?

No. (giggling)

But what is this?

Ooh, that's my old pal, Mindy Moose.

(laughs): I'm Mindy Moose!

(laughs)

Sing the moose song with me!

(moans like moose) (yelps)

(bookcase rumbles)

(Tooey yelps, box thuds)

(laughing)

You look like a zombie.

(groans like zombie) (laughs)

(laughing)

MOLLY (gasps): Look, a picture.

Who are they?

MOLLY: Wait a minute, I think I know.

Wait! Who?

♪ ♪

No... way.

Grandpa Nat?

Yup.

Okay, let's see what you got.

It's a picture of you.

Huh. At least, I think it's you.

You're singing with a little girl.

Oh, that's me, all right.

From a long time ago.

How come I've never heard you sing?

(gasps): You should sing with us at the show tonight!

(sighs)

I'm sorry, Segoya.

I don't sing anymore.

But how can you not sing?

Everybody... ♪ sings ♪

(laughs)

I don't sing anymore because...

I don't have my drum.

I gave it away, and poof!

All the songs I knew went with it.

I cannot sing a note.

Where is it? Your drum?

I left it with her.

I wonder if she kept it.

Huh, who knows?

(Molly grunts)

Poor Shchada'a.

It'd be horrible not to sing anymore.

Too bad he can't get his drum back.

(gasps): That's it!

Whoa! What's it?

We'll get Grandpa's drum back.

What?

MOLLY (gasps): If he has his drum back,

his songs might come back, too.

But he gave it away a long time ago.

And we don't know who that girl is, or where she is.

Though your grandpa might know.

We should ask.

No! I want it to be a surprise.

But you're right.

To find the drum, we have to find the girl.

(airplane roaring)

Maybe Mom knows where to look.

(laughs): Aww.

Look how cute Dad was.

Hmm-- the girl I don't know.

She's probably someone Grandpa met

when he was sent away to school.

Sent away?

Yes.

Back then, people like us-- Native kids--

were sent off to boarding school.

Had to leave their family, their friends, their homes.

It was a hard time for Grandpa.

That's why you never hear him talk about it.

It makes him too sad.

So you don't know who the little girl is?

Sorry.

Or where she lives?

Not a clue.

(gasps)

Clues!

Maybe there are some

in the photo.

TOOEY: All right, you rascal, we know you're hiding something.

Come on, spill the beans!

Hang on.

I found one! A clue!

Where?

MOLLY: The mountains.

"Mountains, Alaska."

(groans)

What are you doing?

MOLLY: I'm searching for mountains

that look like the ones in the photograph.

It might help us find where it was taken,

but there are too many.

Look!

The town has a water tower.

So we're looking for mountains...

...With a water tower.

"Alaska."

We're getting somewhere!

Yes!

Only...

These don't look like our photo.

Third clue! We got train tracks.

"Mountains, water tower,

train tracks, Alaska."

MOLLY: Is that really it?

It kind of looks like the photo.

MOLLY: It says here this town is called Tiritchik.

(sighs): I wish this had the town name somewhere.

So we could be sure.

There are letters on the water tower,

only they're hard to see.

That's it!

(Molly grunting, toy squeaks)

TOOEY: Uh, Molly?

What are you doing?

(grunting): It's here somewhere.

(toys and objects rattling)

Got it!

TOOEY: "T-I-R-I-T-C."

That must be Tiritchik!

We found the town!

♪ Yes! ♪ Whooo!

Okay, let's see how far away it is.

(typing)

Here's Tiritchik,

and here's us.

How are we gonna get there?

(gasps)

Dad!

♪ ♪

Thanks for driving us, Mr. Mabray.

Molly's transport service, at your service.

Molly, look! Mountains!

MOLLY: They look just like the photo!

TOOEY: ♪ Crossing the train tracks ♪

♪ ♪

(engine stops)

(car door closes)

(gasps): And there's the water tower!

We found it, Tooey.

Now we just have to find the little girl.

Only she's not little anymore.

She's as old as your grandpa.

If she still lives here,

she shouldn't be that hard to find.

Let's ask around.

♪ ♪

MOLLY (voiceover): Dad was wrong.

Finding her was a lot harder than we thought.

Majorly hard.

Completely, impossibly hard!

How can nobody know who she is?

Maybe we got the wrong town?

But we followed the clues.

No... way.

Molly, look!

Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

MOLLY: She looks like the girl in the photo.

(gasps): Wait!

That woman with her-- she's the same age as Grandpa.

It's her, it has to be.

(laughs)

Yes! Whooo!

TOOEY: Yes!

(hinge creaks)

DAD: Mahsi'choo.

Thank you for inviting us in.

You are welcome.

Gee, but your Grandpa had a real good voice.

And the best sense of humor.

He sure joked around lots!

Like me.

He was always singing.

So much singing.

Too much singing! (laughs)

(laughs): That's like Molly, too.

If he loved singing so much, why did he give you his drum?

(sighs)

SHYAHTSOO (voiceover): At the school, we weren't allowed

to sing the songs of our people.

It was forbidden.

They only wanted us to sing new songs.

Their songs.

In English.

We were made to feel bad about who we were.

Of the way our people did things.

Your grandfather, he did not like that.

He was proud of his family.

He loved our traditions.

So, your grandpa, he said...

If I can't sing our songs, I just won't sing anymore.

Ever!

A lot of kids did the same.

That's why so many of us

stopped using our language and singing our songs.

I'm so sorry that happened to you.

And to Grandpa.

Thankfully, things have changed since then.

We honor our traditions, and can be proud of them.

Maybe if you give your grandpa back his drum,

his songs will come back, too.

(music playing, people cheering)

CROWD (laughing): Hey!

(clapping and cheering)

GRANDPA NAT: Hey! There you are.

You ready to sing?

Ready!

And maybe you will be, too, because...

Oh...

Molly...

Tooey and I found your friend in the picture

and brought back your drum.

Do you have your songs again?

(sighs): I left them so far behind.

They'll need to find their way back to me.

That's okay, Shchada'a.

I'm just glad we could find it for you.

Molly, we're next!

(b*ating steady rhythm)

♪ A lee ya o'hee a hey heeya ♪

♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

BOTH: ♪ A lee ya o'hee a hey heeya ♪

♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

MOLLY: ♪ Lelghele hodee ♪

BOTH: ♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

MOLLY: ♪ Seyeegg-ah sodelts'eeyh ♪

♪ Seyeegg-ah sodelts'eeyh ♪

(joins in): ♪ Lelghele hodee ♪

(solo): ♪ Lelghele est'aanh ♪

(more loudly): ♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

GRANDPA NAT AND KIDS: ♪ A lee ya o'hee a hey heeya ♪

♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

(cheering and applauding)

(cheering continues)

MOLLY: And just like that,

Grandpa's songs came back to him!

And now,

he's teaching all his songs to us.

Ready, Grandpa?

(laughs)

Tooey!

Oneii!

(laughs)

Come!

ALL: ♪ A lee ya o'hee a hey heeya ♪

♪ Eh hoo e hey e hey hey ♪

Hey, everyone!

Molly here to answer your questions

about life in Alaska.

Jaden in Texas asks:

"Do kids in Alaska still sing traditional songs?"

We do!

(drum b*ating)

BOY : We're learning the history of the Tana River

in Fairbanks, Alaska.

We learned a traveling song.

We listened to stories from our elders.

We also looked at old pictures that were taken right here.

It was fun to compare old pictures

to the way it looks today.

This river is special because you can go

across the middle of Alaska

using this river.

We have been dancing about us

traveling in a river with a canoe.

(drum b*ating, people singing)

GIRL : When I'm dancing the song, I actually feel

like I'm canoeing upstream.

(drumming and singing)

Chief Matthew was the one that paddled up the river.

My grandfather.

He paddled and paddled,

and he come to this camp.

BOY : We looked at old photos

and noticed the details about the past,

just like Molly.

What do you see in here?

Looks like a camp

with a canoe

at the river,

and tents and smokehouses.

I experienced this. Mm-hmm.

GIRL : I learned that our ancestors

were on the river.

BOY : We took old photographs

and compared them to the way they look today.

BOY : It matches almost exactly.

But the picture might have not been taken

in this basic spot.

Probably not, because then,

how would they have the houses in the background?

It's all water there.

GIRL : When I'm dancing, I feel

like I'm with my ancestors.

I feel energized, and I feel happy, of course.

When I look at these photographs,

they connect me with my past.

(drum b*ating, people singing)

Mahsi'choo!

Thanks for asking, and see you next time.

MOLLY: "Have Canoe Will Paddle."

(phone camera chirps)

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

So, there's this canoe race in Alaska

where different schools compete in three-person teams.

And I realized,

"Hey, Tooey, Trini, and I are three people!"

Hi! Howdy!

So, we formed a team called....

ALL: The Qyah Canoers!

And we're filming our first practice

to show you how amazing we already are.

♪ ♪

Okay, Qyah Canoers.

Forward ho!

(struggling)

No, Trini, the other forward.

I thought this was forward!

No, that's starboard! Star-what?

TRINI: I thought this was star...

ALL: Whoa!

(panting)

(sighing)

That was not what I meant by amazing.

(shoes squelching)

(Molly sighs)

Guys, I think we need a coach.

Definitely.

Someone who has actual canoeing experience.

Dad can't do it,

'cause he's guiding all these tours.

Mom has to work at the Trading Post.

Grandpa Nat is away...

I just thought of someone we could ask.

He is a perfect fit!

I am not a perfect fit.

But you've got to be our coach, Mr. Patak.

You know so much about canoes.

Yeah! You're building one right now.

That is a traditional Athabaskan birch bark canoe.

A beedoyes.

So, my ancestors used these?

Sure did.

For fishing and hunting.

And they were sturdy, too.

You'd make a perfect coach, Mr. Patak!

Please?

Sorry, Molly.

I know about building beedoyes.

Not racing them.

(groan)

Hmm...

My friend Connie Williams, on the other hand.

That's someone who knows about canoe racing.

You could ask her.

She's really friendly.

(grinding)

That's friendly?

(yelps)

(saw running down)

Can I help ya?

Oh, uh, hi, Ms. Williams.

I am Molly-- this is Tooey and Trini.

Mr. Patak sent us

because we have a new canoe team

and he said you knew about canoe racing.

I know a bit.

Great!

Because we need a coach. Uh-huh.

That I can't help with.

I'm very busy with my shop...

We're really fast learners and we have great coordination.

Trini, show her your cartwheel.

(grunts)

Ta-da!

Now you.

I can't do a cartwheel.

But he's willing to learn, is what we're saying.

How much experience do you all have with canoes?

-- or ...

Way more than that.

Yeah, or , at least.

minutes.

Okay, where should you be positioned in the canoe?

How do you get the most speed?

What kind of stroke should you use?

A... good one?

(sighs)

Look, I appreciate your, uh, enthusiasm,

but it would be too much work.

(kids groaning)

Maybe if you knew something about canoeing already,

we'd have a place to start.

(sander whirring and grinding)

I think that went well.

Did you hear what she said back there?

Uh-huh.

Follow me.

Connie said she wouldn't coach us

because we don't know anything about canoeing.

So we can change her mind

by learning everything about canoeing.

(shushes)

Sorry, Dad.

(laughing): Just kidding.

There's nobody else here.

So, you want info about canoes, huh?

♪ ♪

MOLLY (voiceover): Trini's dad found us books and magazines

about canoe racing.

The more sources of information you have,

the more you learn.

Whoa! (books fall)

MOLLY: This book says

there's this one way of paddling that everyone likes called...

TRINI: The J-stroke?

Yes!

How did you know?

I read about it in this canoeing book.

But I kinda don't get it.

Here, check out this video.

WOMAN (on computer): The J-stroke begins like a standard stroke,

but towards the end, the paddle is rotated

and pushed away from the canoe.

Oh! Now I get it. Mm-hmm.

MOLLY (voiceover): Finally,

after comparing all our notes,

we were ready.

(Molly clears throat)

Oh, you guys.

Look, I don't want to hurt your feelings...

Team members should paddle on opposite sides of the canoe.

TOOEY: Team members should

paddle at the same time

to create the most speed.

TRINI: Make sure the blade of the paddle

goes into the water vertically

to get the most power with each stroke.

(laughing): Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Where'd you learn all this?

The library.

We brought along our source material

if you want to take a look.

No.

What I want is for you to go home.

And get some rest.

We have a lot of work to do.

Wait, you'll do it?

You'll be our coach?

Wow, it worked!

Meet me at the river at :.

A.M.?

Like, in the morning?

Unless you want to start earlier.

No, thank you. : is great.

I think everything should start at :.

(alarm beeping)

(groans)

Whoa!

(beeping stops)

There you are!

(groaning)

Let's begin!

(whistle blows)

(yelp) CONNIE: Whoa!

No canoe for you.

Not yet.

(whistle blows)

Isn't canoeing supposed to be about moving?

CONNIE: No talking, people!

(groaning)

CONNIE: Whatever you do,

don't let those water balloons drop.

(yelping)

Huh, this is easy.

Uh-oh.

(moaning)

(whistle blows)

Wh... whoa!

(groaning and yelping)

(whistle blows)

See those watermelons?

Your job is to put them in the canoe.

(whistle blows)

(Molly and Trini grunt, watermelons splash)

(splashing)

Why are they so slippery?

Because I covered them in butter!

When are we going to learn actual canoe stuff?

(blows whistle)

I still see watermelons!

(yelping)

(grunting and splashing)

(shoes squelching)

Ah, it's the Qyah Canoers!

How was your first practice with Connie?

Weird.

Really weird.

At least we got snacks.

We're kinda worried, Mr. Patak.

Because the race is coming up soon.

Like, really soon. TRINI: Yeah.

And Connie didn't even show us how to canoe!

Are you sure she knows what she's doing?

Hmm, aanaii-- come with me.

♪ ♪

Wait.

Connie has awards for racing canoes?

TOOEY: Not just awards.

It says here that she raced in the Olympics.

MOLLY: So, weird coacher Connie

is actually one of the best canoers

in the whole world ever?

Mm-hmm.

MOLLY (voiceover): So it turned out Connie knew

exactly what she was doing.

(alarm beeps)

(alarm stops)

(whistle blows)

That weird elbow pose

was for upper body strength.

The water balloons were for core muscles.

(whistle blows)

And the watermelon game

taught us how to balance in the canoe.

After a couple of weeks, we got good.

Really good.

Your best time yet!

(cheering)

(canoe crashes)

(Connie sighs)

Not... good.

But, hey,

it wasn't your fault.

That rock was hard to see.

It came out of nowhere.

But the race is tomorrow.

What are we going to do?

I don't know, kids.

I don't know.

♪ ♪

MOLLY (voiceover): We showed up the next day,

hoping one of the other teams

might have an extra canoe to lend us.

But no such luck.

Then...

MR. PATAK: I may not know much about racing canoes,

but I do know a little something about building them.

What do you think? Can you handle her?

We get to race in your awesome beedoyes?

Are you sure you trust us with it?

From what Connie tells me, you have the skills.

Enaa'basee'. Mahsi'choo.

(giggling)

MR. PATAK: Thank you, quyanapak

to this river for bringing us life.

We respect you and ask that you give us safe travels.

ANNOUNCER (on speaker): All teams report to the starting line!

Go get 'em, Qyah Canoers!

And have fun!

(cheering)

WOMAN: Come on, you can do it!

WOMAN: I'm here for you!

(cheering continues)

ANNOUNCER (on speaker): On your mark.

Get set.

Go!

♪ ♪

(cheering)

MOLLY (voiceover): So there I was,

racing with my friends in a beedoyes

just like my ancestors used to use.

I could almost imagine them right there beside me.

How cool is that?

Before I knew it, there was the finish line.

We paddled as hard as we could and...

(cheering)

We won!

MOLLY (voiceover): Okay, third place.

But third place for the first time we ever competed ever?

Come on!

That's amazing!

(cheering)

I am so proud of you!

Thanks, Coach.

Mahsi'choo, Connie.

Enaa'basee, Coach!

Can I get a picture?

Do you think we'll compete in the Olympics

like you someday?

Yes, Trini.

I wouldn't be surprised to see you all at the Olympics.

Only that'll mean starting practice at : a.m.!

(phone camera clicks)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪