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Mother of Many Children

1977 57 min
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In her first feature-length documentary, released in 1977, Alanis Obomsawin honours the central place of women and mothers within Indigenous cultures. An album of Indigenous womanhood, the film portrays proud matriarchal cultures that for centuries have been pressured to adopt the standards and customs of the dominant society. Tracing the cycle of Indigenous women’s lives from birth to childhood, puberty, young adulthood, maturity and old age, the film reveals how Indigenous women have fought to regain a sense of equality, instilled cultural pride in their children and passed on their stories and language to new generations.

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Mother of Many Children

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In her first feature-length documentary, released in 1977, Alanis Obomsawin honours the central place of women and mothers within Indigenous cultures. An album of Indigenous womanhood, the film portrays proud matriarchal cultures that for centuries have been pressured to adopt the standards and customs of the dominant society. Tracing the cycle of Indigenous women’s lives from birth to childhood, puberty, young adulthood, maturity and old age, the film reveals how Indigenous women have fought to regain a sense of equality, instilled cultural pride in their children and passed on their stories and language to new generations.

  • director
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • producer
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • writer
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • narrator
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • executive producer
    Don Hopkins
    Douglas MacDonald
  • photography
    Don Virgo
    Bob Riddell
    Laval Fortier
  • animation camera
    Jacques Avoine
    Simon Leblanc
  • sound
    Louis Echaquan
    Raymond Marcoux
    Bob Charlie
    Claude Hazanavicius
    Christopher Tate
    Bev Davidson
    J.G. Normandin
  • editing
    John Laing
  • sound editing
    Bill Graziadei
  • re-recording
    Richard Besse
  • participant
    Samson Nahacappo
    Cesar Newashish
    Nancy Snowboy
    Alasie Arnakayak
    Wilma Simon
    Jeannette Vivian Corbiere
    Ed Seymour
    Augusta Marie Gudine

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Mother of Many Children
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Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

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Institutional licence

The institutional price includes the rights to screen this film in institutional settings and in free public screenings.