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Family Life (34)
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Cree Hunters of MistassiniBoyce Richardson & Tony Ianzelo 1974 57 minAn NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life. -
Donna's StoryDoug Cuthand 2001 50 minThis intimate documentary paints a portrait of one Cree woman who left life on the streets to re-emerge as a powerful voice counseling Indigenous adults and youth about abuse and addiction. Raised in foster homes and caught up in drugs and prostitution by the age of 13, Donna Gamble shares her exhilarating and tumultuous journey and what motivated her to turn her life around. Together with her mother and daughters, Donna is working to shatter the cycle of addiction that has plagued their family for generations.
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For AngelaNancy Trites Botkin & Daniel Prouty 1993 21 minThis short film portrays the experiences of Rhonda Gordon and her daughter, Angela, when a simple bus ride changes their lives in an unforeseeable way. When they are harassed by three boys, Rhonda finds the courage to take a unique and powerful stance against ignorance and prejudice. What ensues is a dramatic story of racism and empowerment.
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First Stories - Life Givers: Honouring Our Elders and ChildrenJanine Windolph 2007 5 min"Some say when a child dies, you lose your future, and when an elder dies, you lose your past." Life Givers: Honouring Our Elders and Children is a poignant short film that testifies to the need to grieve and honour the memory of loved ones.
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For JohnDale Montour 2003 51 minThis documentary focuses on John Diabo, a cherished member of a tight-knit family in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake. In 1998, John, tortured by drug addiction for over a decade, ended his life at the age of 31. Through moving testimony and family photographs, this film tells the intimate story of his life… and death.
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Foster ChildGil Cardinal 1987 43 minAn important figure in the history of Canadian Indigenous filmmaking, Gil Cardinal was born to a Métis mother but raised by a non-Indigenous foster family, and with this auto-biographical documentary he charts his efforts to find his biological mother and to understand why he was removed from her. Considered a milestone in documentary cinema, it addressed the country’s internal colonialism in a profoundly personal manner, winning a Special Jury Prize at Banff and multiple international awards. “Foster Child is one of the great docs to come out of Canada, and nobody but Gil could have made it,” says Jesse Wente, director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office. “Gil made it possible for us to think about putting our own stories on the screen, and that was something new and important.”
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First Stories - Nganawendaanan Nde'ing (I Keep Them in My Heart)Shannon Letandre 2006 6 minIn this short documentary, filmmaker Shannon Letandre examines the importance of traditional knowledge and how it can be shared from generation to generation. First Stories is an emerging filmmaker program for Indigenous youth which produced 3 separate collections of short films from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Produced in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm and MANITOBA FILM & SOUND.
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IkweNorma Bailey 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this dramatic film features a young Ojibwa girl from 1770 who marries a Scottish fur trader and leaves home for the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union is beneficial for her tribe, it results in hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of a dream Ikwe once had unfold with tragic clarity.
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Kevin AlecBeverly Shaffer 1977 16 minIn the mountainous country near Lillooet, British Columbia, eleven-year-old Kevin Alec of the Fountain Indian Reserve learns to make fishnets with his grandfather, and skin and tan hides with his aunt. He goes fishing with his grandmother and horseback riding with his brother. Life is full of wonderful things to do and to learn. Will Kevin eventually abandon his traditional way of life or will it be a source of continuing enrichment? This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
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Kwekànamad - The Wind Is ChangingCarlos Ferrand 1999 54 minAnnie Smith-St-Georges is an Algonquin mother and wife who led a largely uneventful life. Then tragedy struck in 1990, when her teenage son Yanik ended his life. Annie wanted to forget and yet to remember, to understand and yet to deny. Then one day she had a vision of a glass teepee ten storeys high, in Ottawa, to house a National Aboriginal Arts and Performance Centre. The building would be designed by the renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, in memory of her son and for all young Natives struggling to find meaning in life. We meet Annie and her husband eight years later, during the final year of their crusade for the glass teepee. A traditional habitat made from non-traditional material would successfully meld past and present. Annie wishes to give back to her people their ancestral pride and dignity. It's a time of hope. Annie now knows that, and she says it for anyone to hear: "Kwekànamad," the wind is changing. Some subtitles.
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Kir Otci Ntcotco... (For You Mom)Mariana Niquay-Ottawa 2009 5 minA personal film in which Mariana Niquay-Ottawa tries to reconnect with her mother.
Since 2004, the travelling studios of Wapikoni Mobile have enabled Quebec First Nations youth to express themselves through videos and music. This short film was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2008 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile -
Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and BackReaghan Tarbell 2008 56 min
Mohawk high steel workers have a special place in North American history. The iconic New York skyline - with its great monuments to modernity - is the fruit of their labour.
While the men were scraping the skies, the women had their feet firmly on the ground - sustaining a vibrant Mohawk community in the heart of Brooklyn.
Little Caughnawaga evokes the neighbourhood's heyday - from the 1920s through to the 60s - and salutes the spirited women who kept the culture alive.
The Brooklyn Mohawks were mostly from Kahnawake, a community long associated with the dangerous world of high steel. In 1907 the small town lost 33 men in the Quebec Bridge disaster, an event that still looms large in collective memory.
Moving back and forth between Brooklyn and Kahnawake, director Reaghan Tarbell crafts an affectionate portrait of Little Caughnawaga ad a heartfelt tribute to the cultural resilience of her people. -
The Lost ChildrenDalhya Newashish 2007 10 minUprooted at age 5 or 6 to study in White schools, the children of the Wemotaci community are now scarred adults trying to recover their Atikamekw identity.
Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. This short documentary was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2007 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile DVD. -
Life on Victor StreetKirby Hammond 2012 29 minThis short documentary depicts an Aboriginal Winnipeg teen’s struggle to stay in school and away from local gangs. Filmed over 2 years, the film is a moving portrait of one family trying to break the cycle of addiction, violence and poverty in an environment filled with anger and despair.
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Mistress MadeleineAaron Kim Johnston 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine's happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.
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Mi'kmaq Family (Migmaoei Otjiosog)Catherine Anne Martin 1995 32 minThis documentary takes you on a reflective journey into the extended family of Nova Scotia’s Mi'kmaq community. Revisiting her own roots, Mi'kmaq filmmaker and mother Catherine Anne Martin explores how the community is recovering its First Nations values, particularly through the teachings of elders and a collective approach to children-rearing. Mi'kmaq Family is an inspiring resource for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences who are looking for ways to strengthen and explore their own families and traditions.
We hear the Mi'kmaq language spoken and a lullaby is sung by a Mi'kmaq grandmother featured in the film. -
A Mother's DreamCherilyn Papatie 2007 6 minAccompanied by her kokom (grandmother), an Algonquin mother of the Kitcisakik community fulfils her dream of three weeks: holds her children and takes them to the fair.
Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. This short documentary was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2007 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile DVD. -
Nose and TinaNorma Bailey 1980 27 minThis short documentary tells the unusual story of Nose and Tina, 2 people in love. He is employed as a brakeman, she as a sex worker. The film captures the domestic details of their life together and documents their hassles with work, money and the law.
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The Nitinaht ChroniclesMaurice Bulbulian 1997 2 h 22 minThis feature documentary profiles an Indigenous community coming to terms with a legacy of sexual abuse, incest and family violence. The film follows the Ditidaht First Nation over a seven-year period, after a respected elder is found guilty of sexual assault. Award-winning filmmaker Maurice Bulbulian records the community's stories, becoming a part of their healing process. With the hope and courage of participants, the powerful interviews in this film play a key role in helping the community overcome the cycle of abuse. The continuing, devastating effects of the residential school system are also revealed; in this system, physical, emotional and sexual abuse were all too often routine. The Nitinaht Chronicles contains strong language, including graphic sexual detail. Please preview before showing to an audience.
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The Nitinaht Chronicles - Part 1Maurice Bulbulian 1998 46 minThe Nitinaht Chronicles is a searing portrait of a small Indigenous community on Canada's west coast struggling to come to terms with a legacy of sexual abuse, incest and family violence. Seven years in the making, the film is a first-hand look at the extraordinary efforts of the people of Nitinaht to overcome the cycle of physical and sexual abuse that touched the lives of nearly all the members of the community.
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The Nitinaht Chronicles - Part 2Maurice Bulbulian 1998 53 minThe Nitinaht Chronicles is a searing portrait of a small Indigenous community on Canada's west coast struggling to come to terms with a legacy of sexual abuse, incest and family violence. Seven years in the making, the film is a first-hand look at the extraordinary efforts of the people of Nitinaht to overcone the cycle of physical abuse that touched the lives of nearly all the members of the community.
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The Nitinaht Chronicles - Part 3Maurice Bulbulian 1998 47 minThe Nitinaht Chronicles is a searing portrait of a small Indigenous community on Canada's west coast struggling to come to terms with a legacy of sexual abuse, incest and family violence. Seven years in the making, the film is a first-hand look at the extraordinary efforts of the people of Nitinaht to overcome the cycle of physical and sexual abuse that touched the lives of nearly all the members of the community.
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OkimahPaul M. Rickard 1998 50 minThis documentary focuses on the goose hunt, a ritual of central importance to the Cree people of the James Bay coastal areas. Not only a source of food, the hunt is also used to transfer Cree culture, skills, and ethics to future generations. Filmmaker Paul M. Rickard invites us along with his own family on a fall goose hunt, so that we can share in the experience.
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Our Dear SistersKathleen Shannon 1975 14 minAlanis Obomsawin, an Indigenous woman who earns her living by singing and making films, is the mother of an adopted child. She talks about her life, her people, and her responsibilities as a single parent. Her observations shake some of our cultural assumptions.
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A Place Between - The Story of an AdoptionCurtis Kaltenbaugh 2007 1 h 14 minIn this film, a cross-cultural adoptee struggles to find balance between his families' different ethnicities and traditions and discover how and where he fits into each world. Following the tragic death of their younger brother in 1980, Curtis Kaltenbaugh, 7, and his brother Ashok, 4, were removed from their birth mother's care in Manitoba and adopted into a white, middle-class family in Pennsylvania. This film follows Curtis' struggle with his biological family's turbulent history and observes what happens when his biological and adoptive families finally meet.
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Places Not Our OwnDerek Mazur 1986 57 minPart of the Daughters of the Country series, this dramatic film set in 1929 depicts how Canada's West, home to generations of Métis, was taken over by the railroads and new settlers. As a result, the Métis became a forgotten people, forced to eke out a living as best they could. At the forefront is Rose, a woman determined to provide her children with a normal life and an education despite the odds. But due to their harsh circumstances, a devastating and traumatic event transpires instead.
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Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis ChildAlanis Obomsawin 1986 29 minRichard Cardinal died by his own hand at the age of 17, having spent most of his life in a string of foster homes and shelters across Alberta. In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and mistreatment of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system. Winner of the Best Documentary Award at the 1986 American Indian Film Festival, the film screened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2008 as part of an Obomsawin retrospective, and continues to be shown around the world.
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The Red DressMichael Scott 1978 27 minRenowned Métis author and screenwriter Maria Campbell explores themes of cultural identity, sexual assault and the familial impact of colonialism in The Red Dress, echoing the themes of her seminal memoir, Halfbreed. Kelly is a Métis man without treaty or hunting rights, struggling to sustain his traditional life. His daughter Theresa longs for a red dress from France that she believes will give her power and strength, as the bear claw once did for her great-grandfather Muskwa. When Theresa escapes an assault and Kelly turns his back on his daughter, he realizes that he must reconnect with his culture in order to make things right. Today, the red dress is a powerful symbol recognizing over 1000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.
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RenaissanceWapikoni mobile team 2008 8 minReturning to the Pikogan reserve to give birth to her first child, Sybèle wonders how to give her son a better life than hers while ensuring he stays connected to the Algonquin community.
Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. This short film was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2007 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile DVD. -
Something RightTracy McLaren 2009 4 minDaniel has lost the rights to his children. He paints, passionately, so that his daughter can say, “My dad’s an artist.”
Since 2004, the travelling studios of Wapikoni Mobile have enabled Quebec First Nations youth to express themselves through videos and music. This short film was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2008 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile -
Stories Are in Our BonesJanine Windolph 2019 11 minIn this layered short film, filmmaker Janine Windolph takes her young sons fishing with their kokum (grandmother), a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city. It’s also a powerful form of resistance for the women.
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The VisitLisa Jackson 2009 3 minThis animated short tells the true story of a Cree family's strange encounter one winter night, which results in a conversation beyond words.
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Wapos Bay: Long GoodbyesDennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 minIn this feature animation film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay, their Cree community in Northern Saskatchewan. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
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Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes (English & Cree version)Dennis Jackson 2011 1 h 12 minIn this feature film, Talon and Raven learn that their dad, Alphonse, has taken a job in the big city and their family will have to move away from Wapos Bay. This news takes Talon on a journey of self-discovery as he sets off to accomplish his bucket list of things he wanted to do with his friends before they leave. Raven, on the other hand, decides to take matters into her own hands with the clear goal of keeping the family in Wapos Bay. With their whole world being turned upside down, Talon and Raven must join forces to keep the family together before it’s too late.
