Course:EDUC440/Media Resources/Aboriginal Peoples

Canada: A People's history
FC 164 C36 2000

Canada: A People's History traces Canada's evolving history, from early native populations more than 15,000 years ago to life at the end of the 20th century - as told by people who lived it.

Children of Canada pt.2 no.1 [17mins]
HV 745 A6 C556 - Education Library

In 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. Will Kevin eventually abandon his Indian way of life or will it be a source of continuing enrichment?

First Stories, Volumes I & II [88mins]

E78 C2 F585 2006 - Education Library
DVD YM F57 2006 - Xwi7xwa Library

In vol. 1 four Aboriginal filmmakers explore the realities of their lives in 21st century Canada. ... their films deal with a range of topics including Native culture/identity, Native traditions, Native art and street gangs. Includes four five-minute documentaries. Vol. 2 features four new films from four emerging Saskatchewan filmmakers, Tessa Desnomie, Cory Generoux, Janine Windolph and Paul John Swiderski.

Gwishalaayt: the spirit wraps around you [47mins]
E99 C552 G84 2001[VHS] - Education Library
DVD WA C73 G85 2000 - Xwi7xwa Library

Gwishalaayt is the power displayed for the first time ... on the life of six extraordinary people who dedicate themselves to the tradition of Chilkat and Northern geometric weaving. Gwishalaayt means The Spirit Wraps Around You in the Tsimshian language. For thousands of years, art and spirit have been woven together in the magnificent aprons and blankets that depict the ancestral history of the Tlingit and Tshimshian Nations. The unique journey of self-discovery made by each of the artists is captured in intimate interviews at work and on their lands. We witness the intricate, sacred blankets emerging through age-old techniques, from gathering of the cedar bark, dyeing of wool and weaving, to their significant place in the culture of these people.

Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action [88mins]
DVD NB G76 H66 2005 - Xwi7xwa Library

Tells the story of four battles in which Native American activists are fighting to preserve their land and culture. Gail Small leads the fight to protect the Cheyenne homeland in Montana from proposed methane gas wells that threaten to pollute the water and make the land unsuitable for farming or ranching. In Alaska, Evon Peter is fighting against efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Mitchell and Rita Capitan have founded an organization of Eastern Navajo people in New Mexico, whose drinking water is threatened by proposed uranium mining. In Maine, Barry Dana is battling state government and the paper companies that have left his people unable to fish or swim in or harvest medicinal plants from the river on which they've depended for 10,000 years.

If the Weather Permits [28mins]
E99 E7 I34 2003[VHS] - Education Library

"Elisapie Isaac, a young filmaker born in nunavik, decides to return to her roots on this breathtaking land. To bridge the growing gap between the young and the old, she lets naalak, an elder and Danny, a young policeman from Kangirsujuaq, tell us what they think"...Container

Invisible Nation [93mins]
E99 A349 I58 2008 - Education Library
also at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

"Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie spotlight an often ignored people whom they lived beside but knew little about. Their turbulent history, brought to the screen for the first time, dates back over 5,000 years. But the next century may well be their last. For too long, they have lived in abject conditions, sometimes worse than in Third World countries. Yet the two filmmakers didn't have to travel thousands of kilometres to find these people. The Algonquin nation lives right here in Quebec." -- publisher's website.

Nuxalk Carver, Silyas a film [23mins]
E99 B39 N88 2003[VHS] - Education Library
also DVD at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

Art "Silyas" Saunders is a member of the Nuxalk First Nation of Bella Coola. He turned to carving at age 60 and quickly gained recognition. He was awarded the prestigious Native Artist Fellowship from the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. This short film provides insight into the life of a traditional Nuxalk artist.

Red Run [25mins]
E98 F4 R4 2001[VHS] - Education Library
DVD BKN J87 R43 2001 - Xwi7xwa Library

"In 1913, a railway blast sent hundreds of tons of rock cascading into the Fraser River, blocking the path of thousands of returning salmon. The Fraser Valley aboriginal people rallied for days to save their fish, carrying them one at a time over the fallen rock. Red Run recalls this dramatic tale and reveals its impact today. Director Murray Jurak, from the region's Lower Nicola Band, follows members of three Siska families to the river's edge"--Container.

School in the Bush (pt.2 of Native Reflections) [15mins]
DVD CA S29 N57 1995 - Xwi7xwa Library

Part 1 of this compilation features still photography documenting the Indian experience of the opening of the Canadian West.
Part 2 documents the traditional Cree way of life in a winter hunting camp.

Shluk [17mins]
E99 B39 S55 2003[VHS] -Education Library
also DVD at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

Shluk, Nuxalk for dried salmon, is a culinary delicacy. This short film shows how it is made by cutting Bella Coola spring salmon into thin slices and drying them in a smokehouse.

Spirit of Haida Gwaii [48mins]
E99 H2 S647 1991[VHS] - Education Library

Documents the creation of this sculpture by Canadian artist Bill Reid. Topics include: the sculptor's technique and thoughts on the creative process, Haida mythology and mythological representation, brief review of Reid's life and career.

Story of the Coast Salish Knitters [52mins]
TT819 C32 B752 2000[VHS] - Education Library
DVD WA W45 S25 2008 - Xwi7xwa Library
E99.S2 S76 2008 - Koerner Library

Looks at the women who have produced the distinctive and cherished Cowichan sweaters. Using historic photos and interviews with generations of Salish women, tells how their work with wool has been an economic mainstay of the area. Talks about their small victories in improving their economic positions relative to their suppliers and the buyers of their sweaters.

Suckerfish [8mins]
E78 O5 S83 2004 - Education Library
also at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

When she was around 8, Lisa Jackson began to suspect that she was part Native. Then her mother told her that their Indian name was Nahmabin, or Suckerfish. When she was 10, Lisa fled Toronto to live with relatives in Vancouver to escape her mother's depression, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse - legacies of the residential school experience. Twenty years later, as she sifts through memories and letters from her mom, Lisa constructs a portrait of a woman whose drive to love her daughter triumphed over her demons of addiction.

Tales of Sand and Snow [48mins]
E99.T33 T3 2006 - Okanagan Library

Hyacinthe Combary, an immigrant to Montréal, wonders if he has done the right thing by leaving his native Burkina Faso. He searches for the answer among the indigenous Atikamekw in Wemotaci, Quebec, who have a culture similar to his own.

Tribe of One [40mins]
E99 Q19 T74 2003[VHS] - Education Library
also DVD at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

Chronicles the life and family history of Rhonda Larrabee, who grows up thinking she is of Chinese and French descent, but then discovers she is half-native. Not only is she part of a forgotten First Nation in New Westminster, B.C. - the Qayqayt First Nation - she helps re-establish the band and becomes its Chief.

Through these Eyes/Takunna jktavut[56mins]
Temporarily shelved at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

Man: A Course of Study, was a program with the ambitious goal of teaching American children what it was to be human. At the program's core was a benchmark of visual anthropology, the Netsilik Film Series, capturing a year in the life of a small Inuit community on the cusp of contact. MACOS created a clash of values that rippled throughout the schools of America, and revealed the fragile relationship between politics and educational reform. Weaving together remarkable archival and contemporary footage, Through These Eyes revisits the politics and controversy of this unprecedented era in American educational reform and offers an historical perspective on the study of anthropology.

Waban-aki [104mins]
E99 A13 W32 2006 - Education Library
also at XWI7XWA LIBRARY technical services

A celebrated filmmaker returns to the Abenaki community of Odanak, Quebec where she was raised, crafting a lyrical account of her people.

Wapos Bay series [24mins each]
DVD YUC W37 2007 - Xwi7xwa Library

Wapos Bay is a light-hearted, stop-motion animation series about the adventures of three Cree children living in remote northern Saskatchewan. Guided by elders, extended family and their own insatiable curiosity, T-Bear, Talon and Raven learn how to balance traditional ways with newer ones. Dennis and Melanie Jackson created this charming award-winning series"--Container