Isn’t the internet great? Aside from videos of cats and dogs doing all sorts of wonderful things, it’s amazing what you can find by typing things in like:
The TRC
Residential Schools
Canadian Treaties…. DO IT!
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Historic Trauma and Aboriginal Healing
Highlights from the Report: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Secret Path Learning Resources
FILM & VIDEO REFERENCE MATERIALS
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report
The event will mark the end of the Commission’s six year mandate. The Commission is a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Its job is to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian Residential Schools (IRS) and document the truth of survivors, families, communities and anyone personally affected by the IRS experience.
Unrepentant documents Canada’s dirty secret – the planned genocide of aboriginal people in church-run Indian Residential Schools – and a clergyman’s efforts to document and make public these crimes. First-hand testimonies from residential school survivors are interwoven with Kevin Annett’s own story of how he faced firing, de-frocking, and the loss of his family, reputation and livelihood as a result of his efforts to help survivors and bring out the truth of the residential schools.
KUPER ISLAND: Residential School Survivors
For almost a century, hundreds of Coast Salish children were sent to Kuper Island, where they were forbidden from speaking their native language, forced to deny their cultural heritage, and often faced physical and sexual abuse. Some died trying to escape on logs across the water. Many more died later, trying to escape their memories. Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh and Peter C. Campbell join survivors of the school, 20 years after its closure, as they begin to break the silence and embark on an extraordinary healing journey.
Wawahte: Stories of Residential School Survivors
Wawahte began as a book written by Robert P. ‘Bob’ Wells. When Bob was nine years old, his dear friend Moochum Joe told him to “draw words on paper” that told of how bad Indian people were being treated, and to “draw them true”. Sixty-five years later, Wawahte was finally published (2012). The book tells the story of residential schools from the perspective of three of its survivors. They trusted Bob to tell their very personal stories so that all Canadians might find mutual healing and understanding. In 2015, Wawahte was made into an educational documentary produced by John Sanfilippo of Tyton Sound. The documentary combines archival images with elements from the Wawahte audio book. The result is a presentation that is more powerful and accessible than ever.
We Were Children
In this feature film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools, where they suffered years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.
How a People Live
In 1964, the Gwa’sala and ‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations were relocated from their villages on the coast of BC to Tsulquate, a newly-built reserve just outside of Port Hardy.
With only five homes for over 200 people, the move proved disastrous. In 2012, two boats travelled to their original village sites, bringing community members back to their ancestral homelands, some for the first time.
Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson draws upon interviews and archival footage to tell the story.
The Secret Path (with intro and follow-up panel)
Gord Downie began Secret Path as ten poems incited by the story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year-old boy who died fifty years ago on October 22, 1966, in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario, walking home to the family he was taken from over 400 miles away.
The stories Gord’s poems tell were fleshed into the ten songs of Secret Path. In winter 2014, Gord and Mike brought the recently finished music to comic artist Jeff Lemire for his help illustrating Chanie’s story, bringing him and the many children like him to life.
Downie’s music and Lemire’s illustrations inspired The Secret Path, an animated film broadcast by CBC in an hour-long commercial-free television special.
The 8th Fire
8TH FIRE is a provocative, high-energy journey through Aboriginal country showing you why we need to fix Canada’s 500 year-old relationship with Indigenous peoples; a relationship mired in colonialism, conflict and denial.
With its energetic pace and stunning HD landscapes, 8TH FIRE propels you past prejudice, stereotypes and misunderstandings, to encounters with an impressive new generation of Aboriginal Canadians who are reclaiming both their culture and their confidence.
They are the fastest growing population in Canada and more than half live in cities. Those still struggling on reserves in Third World conditions are demanding a share of the vast mineral and energy resources in their midst. And the Canadian justice system is backing them up.
The title for the series draws from an Anishinaabe prophecy that declares now is the time for Aboriginal peoples and the settler community to come together and build the ‘8th Fire’ of justice and harmony.
Alan Ojiig Corbiere: The Underlying Importance of Wampum Belts
Alan Ojiig Corbiere discusses Wampum Belts and their direct relevance to the relationships between Indigenous peoples and Canada. Wampum Belts are living symbols of our treaty agreements and the honour of keeping them, among other things.
Justice Murray Sinclair on the Royal Proclamation of 1763
On the 250th Anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, senator and former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, discusses the Proclamation and its implications for the nation-to-nation relationships between the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America) and, in this context, Canada. The canoe seen is, ‘Treaty Canoe’ by artist Alex McKay
Big Thinking – Justice Sinclair – What do we do about the legacy of Indian residential schools?
The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), presents Congress 2015’s introductory Big Thinking lecture. Justice Sinclair was appointed Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba in March of 1988 and to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba in January 2001.
The Revolution Has Begun – Keynote by Christi Belcourt
Keynote address at the Maamwizing Conference with Laurentian University at Science North, November 2016.
Change the System, not the Climate: Clayton Thomas-Muller (August 2016)
Clayton Thomas-Muller : previous spokesperson for Idle No More and responsible of the 350.org campaign on the importance of stopping oil sands and to counter extractivism.
It’s Not Your Fault | Raven Davis
It’s Not Your Fault is a short movie about the violence of online comments made towards Indigenous people, specifically Indigenous Women, children and 2 Spirit people. Bringing attention to the negligence of online/social media outlets allowing hate speech in Canada.
Street Education | Michael Champagne | TEDx University of Winnipeg
This River
This short documentary offers an Indigenous perspective on the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who has disappeared. Volunteer activist Kyle Kematch and award-winning writer Katherena Vermette have both survived this heartbreak, and share their histories with each other and the audience. While their stories are different, they both exemplify the beauty, grace, resilience, and activism born out of the need to do something.
Dakota 38
In the spring of 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Just before he awoke, he arrived at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. Miller dismissed the vision at first. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862.
Miller says in the film: “When you have dreams, you know when they come from the creator. As any recovered alcoholic, I made believe that I didn’t get it. I tried to put it out of my mind, yet it’s one of those dreams that bothers you night and day.”
Now, four years later, embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. Miller added: “We can’t blame the wasi’chus [greedy people] anymore. We’re doing it to ourselves. We’re selling drugs. We’re killing our own people. That’s what this ride is about, is healing.”
The documentary film Dakota 38 by Smooth Feather productions is the story of their 2012 journey: the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.
Headdress
JJ Neepin is a female Indigenous filmmaker. With the help of photographer Nadya Kwandibens, JJ plans to recreate her great-grandfather’s portrait. The headdress is a powerful symbol with great meaning in First Nations communities. Headdress is the start of an ongoing conversation about tradition and cultural appropriation.
Dancing Towards the Light
In Arviat, dancing is more than just a way to unwind: it’s become a positive force of hope and healing. The documentary is by Kitra Cahana and Ed Ou, Canadian journalists and visual storytellers whose work has appeared in the New York Times, National Geographic and on the CBC.
Over the past few years, Ou and Cahana have made several trips to Arviat, Nunavut, located on the shores of the Hudson Bay. There, they have filmed the Sila Rainbow Dance Competition, an annual event that highlights the talents of Arviat youth.
Canada’s struggle to provide health care to northern communities
Canada is struggling to provide health care to northern communities, according to one doctor who travels monthly to provide his services. Dr. Mike Kirlew says that the level of care his patients in northern communities have access to is not even close to what is available to other Canadians.
Angry Inuk
In her award-winning documentary, director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins a new tech-savvy generation of Inuit as they campaign to challenge long-established perceptions of seal hunting. Armed with social media and their own sense of humour and justice, this group is bringing its own voice into the conversation and presenting themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.
Films By Alanis Obomsawin
Christmas at Moose Factory
This short animation by acclaimed First Nations filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin creates a charming study of life at Christmas time in Moose Factory, an old settlement mainly composed of Indian families on the shore of James Bay. Composed entirely of children’s crayon drawings and narrated by a little girl, the film illustrates incidents big and small with childish candor, conveying to the viewer a strong sense of being there.
Incident at Restigouche
In Incident at Restigouche, filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin delves into the history behind the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raids on the Restigouche Reserve on June 11 and 20, 1981. The Quebec government had decided to restrict fishing, resulting in anger among the Mi’kmaq Indians as salmon was traditionally an important source of food and income. Using a combination of documents, news clips, photographs and interviews, this powerful film provides an in-depth investigation into the history-making raids that put justice on trial.
Is the Crown at war with us?
In the summer of 2000, federal fishery officers appeared to wage war on the Mi’gmaq fishermen of Burnt Church, New Brunswick. Why would officials of the Canadian government attack citizens for exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land? Alanis Obomsawin casts her nets into history to provide a context for the events on Miramichi Bay.
Kaneshsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
On a July day in 1990, a confrontation propelled Native issues in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec, into the international spotlight. Director Alanis Obomsawin spent 78 nerve-wracking days and nights filming the armed stand-off between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. This powerful documentary takes you right into the action of an age-old Aboriginal struggle. The result is a portrait of the people behind the barricades.
My Name is Kahentiiosta
This documentary short by Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman arrested after the Oka Crisis’ 78-day armed standoff in 1990. She was detained 4 days longer than the other women. Her crime? The prosecutor representing the Quebec government did not accept her aboriginal name.
No Address
This feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin examines the plight of Native people who come to Montreal searching for jobs and a better life. Often arriving without money, friends or jobs, a number of them quickly become part of the homeless population. Both dislocated from their traditional values and alienated from the rest of the population, they are torn between staying and returning home.
Poundmaker’s Lodge: A Healing Place
This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin takes us to Poundmaker’s Lodge, a treatment centre in St. Albert, Alberta, that welcomes Native people troubled by addiction to drugs and alcohol. Named after a 19th-century Native leader, the centre offers a space where Natives can come together for mutual support, partake in healing rituals like the sweat lodge, and rediscover their traditions. The film shows the despair of a people dispossessed of land, culture, language and dignity, and their strength and courage in overcoming substance abuse.
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child
This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the age of 4 due to family problems, he spent the rest of his 17 short years moving in and out of 28 foster homes, group homes and shelters in Alberta. A sensitive, articulate young man, Richard Cardinal left behind a diary upon which this film is based.
Rocks at Whiskey Trench
This feature documentary profiles a key element of the 1990 Oka crisis in which the Mohawk communities of Kahnawake and Kanehsatake stood against the Canadian military and Canadian citizens in a stand-off that turned violent. On August 28, 1990, a convoy of 75 cars left the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and crossed Montreal’s Mercier Bridge—straight into an angry mob that pelted the vehicles with rocks. The targets of this violence were Mohawk women, children and elders leaving Kahnawake, in fear of a possible advance by the Canadian army. This film is the fourth in Alanis Obomsawin’s landmark series on the Mohawk rebellions that shook Canada in 1990.
Spudwrench – Kahnawake Man
This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people’s culture and traditions, he was known as “Spudwrench” during the 1990 Oka crisis. Offering a unique look behind the barricades at one man’s impassioned defence of sacred territory, the film is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him.
We Can’t make the Same Mistake Twice
In this documentary, distinguished filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin focuses her lens on the landmark discrimination case filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the Child and Family Caring Society of Canada against Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada in 2007. Obomsawin exposes injustices to the community by showing how the child and welfare services provided to them are vastly inferior to the services available to other Canadian children, while giving voice to the childcare workers at the heart of the battle.
When All the Leaves Are Gone
As the only First Nations student in an all-white 1940s school, eight-year old Wato is keenly aware of the hostility towards her. She deeply misses the loving environment of the reserve she once called home, and her isolation is sharpened by her father’s serious illness. When Wato’s teacher reads from a history book describing First Nations peoples as ignorant and cruel, it aggravates her classmates’ prejudice. Shy and vulnerable Wato becomes the target of their bullying and abuse. Alone in her suffering, she finds solace and strength in the protective world of her magical dreams.
Gene Boy Came Hone
This short documentary by celebrated filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin is a portrait of Eugene “Gene Boy” (pronounced Genie Boy) Benedict, from Odanak Indian Reserve (near Montreal, Quebec). At 17, he enlisted in the US Marines and was sent to the frontlines of the Vietnam War. This film is the account of his 2 years of service and his long journey back to Odanak afterwards.
The People of the Kattawapiskak River
Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a situation that led Attawapiskat’s band chief, Theresa Spence, to ask the Canadian Red Cross for help. With the Idle No More movement making front page headlines, this film provides background and context for one aspect of the growing crisis.
REDx Talks
Through art, cultural, and educational programming, Iiniistsi Treaty Arts Society explores iiniistsis (treaties) between Indigenous and Settler cultures and individuals; treaties past, present, and possible. REDx Talks, the Indigenized speaker series, is “Iiniistsi Treaty Arts Society’s” first branch of work; an ever-growing community of some of the most influential elders, creatives, thinkers and agents of change on Indigenous and conciliation issues. REDx promotes stories of Resilience and Empowerment, while facilitating Discourse (REDx – silent x) around issues important to Indigenous people around the world.
Films by Wade Davis
Ted Talk: Dreams from endangered cultures
https://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures
www.daviswade.com
The Day The Waylakas Dance
Hunters of the Northern Ice
Wade Davis The Explorer
The Elder Brothers: A Journey to the Heart of the World
Songlines, Dreamtime, and the Visionary Realm of the Aborigines
Peoples of the Anaconda
Salmon People
Contrasting ancient myth and modern reality, this short documentary examines the legendary relationship between West Coast Indians and salmon, once their staple food. In the mythical realm, we learn how Raven finds riches in the harvest of the salmon, only to lose everything through a thoughtless act against the Spirit of the Salmon. So too does modern man jeopardize his living from the sea by heedless action. Images of ancient spear-fishing and primitive smoke-houses contrast with images of today’s Indians operating a seiner and working in a cooperative cannery.
You Are On Indian Land
A film report of the 1969 protest demonstration by the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) of St. Regis Reserve on the international bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario. By blocking the bridge, which is on the Reserve, and causing a considerable tie-up of motor traffic, they drew public attention to their grievance. The community was prohibited by Canadian authorities from duty-free passage of personal purchases across the border; a right established by the Jay Treaty of 1794. The film shows the confrontation with police, and ensuing action.
A Tribe of One
Featuring archival images and compelling interviews, this documentary captures Rhonda Larrabee’s quest to unearth the Indigenous heritage her mother felt forced to hide from her. Now, as proud Chief of the New Westminster Band, she works tirelessly to revitalize the Qayqayt First Nations.
Down North
This short film serves as a report on sub-Arctic developments in the 1.3 million square km District of Mackenzie. In communities such as Hay River, Yellowknife and Port Radium, modern technology and methods of winter transport opened up new possibilities in mining, lumber, and other industries, and new opportunities for the local populations.
Crazywater
After years of struggle and shame, five Indigenous Canadians are bravely telling their stories. Crazywater is an emotional and revealing exploration of substance abuse among Indigenous people in Canada, directed by Inuvialuit filmmaker Dennis Allen. Rarely have their own perspectives on the sensitive topic of alcoholism been presented in such an honest and forthright manner. Dennis introduces Alex, Stephen, Paula and Desirae, who courageously share their experiences. Alex’s struggles with alcoholism were an attempt to forget the abuse he suffered at a residential school. Drinking and drug use were Stephen’s way of burying the childhood trauma he couldn’t bear. For Paula and Desirae-two mothers with a dark history of addiction-family becomes the key to breaking the cycle of abuse. Like his subjects, the director himself is a recovering alcoholic. Dennis describes his decades-long battle with alcoholism, which began when he took his first drink-when he was only a boy. The survivors maintain a deep and devoted commitment to their traditional cultures as a means to achieving long-term sobriety. Through their voices, this insightful documentary offers an inspirational beacon of hope for those whose lives have been affected by addiction.
Qallunaat! Why White People Are Funny
This documentary pokes fun at the ways in which Inuit people have been treated as “exotic” documentary subjects by turning the lens onto the strange behaviours of Qallunaat (the Inuit word for white people). The term refers less to skin colour than to a certain state of mind: Qallunaat greet each other with inane salutations, repress natural bodily functions, complain about being cold, and want to dominate the world. Their odd dating habits, unsuccessful attempts at Arctic exploration, overbearing bureaucrats and police, and obsession with owning property are curious indeed.
The Invisible Nation
The Algonquin once lived in harmony with the vast territory they occupied. This balance was upset when the Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Gradually, their Aboriginal traditions were undermined and their natural resources plundered. Today, barely 9,000 Algonquin are left. They live in about 10 communities, often enduring abject poverty and human rights abuses. These Aboriginal people are suffering the threat to their very existence in silence. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie have decided to sound the alarm before it’s too late.
Nishnawbe-Aski: The People and the Land
The main issue in this film is change, and how it is affecting the Cree and Ojibwa of the Nishnawbe-Aski region. Four of their communities have been selected to illustrate the different ways in which the inhabitants are reacting to change. A useful film for anyone interested in northern development or the evolution of Indigenous societies.
Vanishing Point
This feature documentary tells the story of 2 Inuit communities of the circumpolar north—one on Canada’s Baffin Island, the other in Northwest Greenland—that are linked by a migration led by an intrepid shaman. Navarana, an Inughuit elder and descendant of the shaman, draws inspiration and hope from the ties that still bind the 2 communities to face the consequences of rapid social and environmental change.
Round Up
This short film traces Pete Standing Alone’s personal journey from cultural alienation to pride and belonging. As a spiritual elder, teacher and community leader of the Blood Indians of Southern Alberta, Pete works with youth to repair the cultural and spiritual destruction wrought by residential schools. At age 81, he has come full-circle in his dedication to preserving the traditional ways of his people.
Circle of the Sun
This short documentary by Colin Low is an invitation to a gathering of the Blood Indians of Alberta – as the Sun Dance is captured on film for the first time. The film shows how the theme of the circle reflects the bands’ connection to wildlife and also addresses the predicament of the young generation, those who have relinquished their ties with their own culture but have not yet found a firm place in a changing world.
Keep Calm And Decolonize
Five filmmakers respond to Buffy Sainte-Marie’s call to “Keep Calm and Decolonize” as Canada marks 150 years of Confederation. From shadow puppets to documentary, these stories explore what a “decolonized” country might look like. Curated by Jesse Wente for CBC Arts.
Podcasts
Media Indigena
http://www.mediaindigena.com/
MEDIA INDIGENA is a weekly Indigenous current affairs podcast. Our website also features Aboriginal news, views and creative expression.
Unreserved
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved
Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. Host Rosanna Deerchild takes you straight into Indigenous Canada, from Halifax to Haida Gwaii, from Shamattawa to Ottawa, introducing listeners to the storytellers, culture makers and community shakers from across the country. The Unreserved team offers real talk from the people behind the headlines, with a soundtrack from the best in Indigenous music.
Red Man Laughing
https://www.redmanlaughing.com/listen/
Ryan McMahon is an Anishinaabe/Metis comedian, writer & actor based out of Treaty #1 Territory (Winnipeg, MB). Armed with a degree in Theatre & as a graduate of the prestigious Second City Conservatory (Toronto), Ryan’s storytelling comedy style is fast paced, loose & irreverent as he explores the good, the bad & the ugly between Indian Country & the mainstream.
Photography
Concrete Indians: Photography by Nadya Kwandibens
Nadya Kwandibens is Anishinaabe/ Ojibwe from the Animakee Wa Zhing First Nation (formerly Northwest Angle #37) in northwestern Ontario. In October 2008, she founded Red Works and in the same year began photographing a series entitled Concrete Indians. Since then Nadya has travelled extensively, photographing people and events throughout Canada and U.S.A. She has worked for numerous groups and organizations including the: National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, First Nations Health Authority, Association for Native Development in the Performing Arts, Full Circle First Nations Performance, Miziwe Biik Development Corp., imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Native Earth Performing Arts, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre; and several individual artists, actors, musicians and role models.
The Treaty People 