Your browser does not support the video tag.June is National Indigenous History Month. To celebrate our accomplishments, CBC Indigenous is highlighting First Nations, Inuit and Métis trailblazers in law, medicine, science, sports — and beyond.
Like many in Kahnawà:ke, Stalk comes from a line of ironworkers, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and uncles. His community is renowned for their skills in the trade. Allan Downey is Dakelh from Nak’azdli Whut’en in B.C. and an associate professor in the Department of History and Indigenous Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. Stalk didn’t always have a feel for steel and said it was apparent on his first job, bolting together girders on a five storey building.But after a while, he stopped worrying about the height.
When one won an award, the production company invited Stalk and his wife Ann Diabo-Stalk, who were newlyweds at the time, to the awards ceremony in 1989 in Paris. He sat inside the hole of a girder to eat a croissant and at one point took a brief nap while waiting for the film crew.