Mohawk Girls

Plot synopsis:
The show follows three best friends in their late twenties living in Kahnawake: Bailey, Caitlin and Zoe. The women are joined by newcomer Anna, who is of mixed Mohawk descent.
=== Season 1 ===
The series begins with Bailey moving into her aunt's house after her uncle runs off with a younger woman. Bailey is in a serious relationship with Thunder, but after she introduces him to her father she learns that they are actually cousins. Bailey begins the search for a new boyfriend but finds the Mohawk men she meets dull.
Caitlin meanwhile falls in love with Butterhead, a sleazy lacrosse player who already has two children with two different women. Though she is able to separate him from his partner she struggles to keep his attention when younger women begin flirting with him.
Zoe, a successful lawyer, struggles against parental pressure to uphold her image and be a flawless example for the Mohawk community.
After years spent in New York Anna returns to Kahnawake and finds that the small community is less than welcoming to a free-spirited vlogger.
=== Season 2 ===
The second season follows the women as their love lives become messier.
Bailey, who finally stands up to her friends and family and brings Jack to meet them, is crushed when Jack breaks up with her after her family threatens him.
Caitlin becomes pregnant with Butterhead's child. While she is initially terrified at the prospect of being a single mother she finds that Butterhead isn't much better as an involved father when they move into his mother's home.
Zoe fully embraces her fetish side and becomes involved in the bondage scene.
Anna begins dating Thunder after finally standing up to Bailey but faces the disapproval of everyone else inside the community and develops PTSD after being jumped by Vicky.
=== Season 3 ===
Bailey has an affair with Lollipop's husband but eventually ends it and decides to move back to the reservation to refocus her life. She focuses on finding a Mohawk man once again.
Caitlin has mixed feelings about aborting her child with Butterhead but eventually focuses on self-improvement and leaves Butterhead.
Zoe deals with the consequences of her freakout at Lollipop's wedding by ingratiating herself to her and even getting a boyfriend to prove she can be normal and not uptight.
Anna reunites with Thunder and continues to learn more about Mohawk culture despite being exposed as being only 48% Mohawk.
=== Season 4 ===
Bailey navigates wedding planning, commitment, and living with Watio. This is hard when she also has growing feelings for her painting instructor, James in Montreal. She also tries to break into a real career, but struggles.
Caitlin loves the respect and encouragement she has from her flourishing relationship with Leon; unfortunately, her family and community are not supportive of her dating a black man.
Zoe begins seeing a psychologist who believes Zoe is dealing with a sex addiction, but Zoe denies this. She decides to run for Chief and get a boyfriend to make up for not showing up to a fundraiser she planned poorly; this does not go as well as she would have liked when she tries to balance her career and personal life with a "Master" in Montreal.
Anna tries to fit in with the community, and does better when she drops out of school and disrespects her white mother in front of the town. This leads to Thunder breaking up with her, and Anna gradually loses more and more as she tries to prove she deserves the name "Fauxhawk" instead of "Hat girl".

Tags: romantic

Review:
Great!. Mohawk Girls is fun, funny, and well done! I am not aboriginal, but I love shows with independent female characters, especially when Canadian made. The focus of Mohawk Girls is a group of friends who are navigating the complexities of young life, within the framework of a Mohawk community. The women face challenges shared by any person living in a small community who is looking for more. Stay close to your roots, or leave the nest? Mohawk Girls has a Being Erica feel, but much more realistic and down-to-earth. I can't speak to the representation of aboriginal life, but it feels true to mine as a young person just trying to figure things out.. S1E1 Welcome to Our World. In the series premiere episode of Mohawk Girls (Sunday's on Omni at 9 EST and Tuesdays on APTN at 9 EST), created and directed by Gemini Award winning (Club Native 2008) Tracey Deer, featuring executive producers Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight is a dramedy set on a fictionalised Kahnawa:ke, ( pronounced ɡahnaˈwaːɡe ),the Mohawk reservation that is actually located south of Montreal, Quebec. This series features four single woman living on the reservation. The media has been touting the series as "Sex in the City meets 'the Rez'".The show opens with a series of short scenes introducing the viewers to our four protagonists: Bailey, Anna, Caitlin and Zoe. Down to earth Bailey (Jennifer Pudavick a Metis actress from Winnipeg Manitoba), and Rez Cop Thunder (Kyle Nobess - "Barry" from Cashing In) are caught unawares by Auntie Velma (played by Ashley Michaels). Flamboyant outsider Anna(Maika Harper from Iqaluit), newly arrived from New York is vlogging her return "home" and realising things have changed considerably since her visits with her father as a youngster. Finally we meet the loyal yet insecure Caitlin (Heather White – Mohawk/Stoney) and uptight, high achieving band lawyer Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne) discussing the lack of single prospects in Kahnawa:ke. Clearly dating, the competition between women to catch a good man, and the relationships between women are going to be ongoing themes.The story picks up when Bailey decides to introduce Thunder to her father Sose (played by Glen Gould, Mi'kmaq, with previous appearances on Cashing In, Blackstone and Murdock Mysteries) only to learn from him that she and Thunder are actually second cousins. Caitlyn and Zoe rally around her and the issues of dating only Mohawk men met are met head on but in a lighthearted manner. We learn that Caitlin "hooked up" with Butterhead (played by Meegwun Fairbrother, also known for "Daniel Aerov" of Helix) which neatly establishes that "all of the men are either 'butterheads or cousins'", emphasising once again the dire state of dating on the rez. The threesome check out "MYRezLove" an online dating site and realise that Butterhead is not as bad as they originally thought.The show finally brings the newcomer into the mix as Anna brazenly walks in to Zoe's home and introduces herself to the girls. Anna's flamboyant "city" look, not to mention indulgent choice of study, sets her apart from the rest of the girls and they are quick to judge her as an outsider, setting us up for the test that will ultimately bring Anna into the fold and make our threesome into a foursome.Bailey joins up with Anna for a party in the city (Montreal) where she meets Jack (played by actor Christian Campbell with such appearance as "Ezra Kleinfelter", Elementary "We Are Everyone" and "James Frampton", Supernatural, "Man's Best Friend with Benefits") and we begin to see her dilemma; doing what she feels what is right for her people or going where her heart wants to take her. It is in this setting that Deer cleverly weaves in the racist stereotypes that FNMI people experience on a daily basis. Deer treats us to the indigenous response, effectively shutting down the traditional dominant white perspective.We return to see Caitlin primping for an evening out and we learn that Caitlin's motivation to settle for Butterhead is her desperate desire to start her own family, coupling what many women everywhere can relate to, wanting to start her own family. Again Deer cleverly links that desire with the difficulties facing Mohawk (and indigenous women everywhere); ensure the Mohawk (or insert any FNMI nation here) nation survives. The episode closes with a catfight between Caitlin and Vicky (played by Rachelle White Wind Arbez) over Butterhead, whom Caitlin has again hooked up. Zoe along with newly returned Bailey and Anna join in the fracas thus sealing the deal for Anna's membership in the foursome.It is admirable that in the introductory episode Deer tackles the controversy that has brought the real life community of Kahnawa:ke into mainstream news regarding mixed marriages. Presently if a woman marries a non-indigenous man she will be removed from the reservation. A popular slogan "if you marry out, you are out" has appeared at protests as many of the community members are concerned by both assimilation into "white" Canada and the risk of diluting the Mohawks out of existence through mixed marriages. It is going to be fun to see where Deer's passion takes us as this series grows. What do you think? Will Bailey continue to see Jack? What is next for Thunder? Will Zoe decide to meet a man through the online dating site? Let me know your thoughts.