Mother of Many Children
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.
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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directorAlanis Obomsawin
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producerAlanis Obomsawin
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writerAlanis Obomsawin
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narratorAlanis Obomsawin
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executive producerDon HopkinsDouglas MacDonald
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photographyDon VirgoBob RiddellLaval Fortier
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animation cameraJacques AvoineSimon Leblanc
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soundLouis EchaquanRaymond MarcouxBob CharlieClaude HazanaviciusChristopher TateBev DavidsonJ.G. Normandin
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editingJohn Laing
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sound editingBill Graziadei
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re-recordingRichard Besse
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participantSamson NahacappoCesar NewashishNancy SnowboyAlasie ArnakayakWilma SimonJeannette Vivian CorbiereEd SeymourAugusta Marie Gudine
Mother of Many Children, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada