aboriginal perspectives

Synopsis: A film report of the 1969 protest demonstration by Mohawk Indians of the St. Regis Reserve on the international bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario.… Uqalimakkanirit

Synopsis: This whimsical animation, reminiscent of NFB classics, follows medicine man Walk-in-the-forest on a walk in the woods that leads to the discovery of an intriguing secret world.

Synopsis: Trapper is a beautiful short film capturing the quiet dignity of a day in the life of a Northern trapper.

Trappeur est un magnifique court métrage qui saisit la dignité tranquille d'une journée dans la vie d'un trappeur du Nord.

Filmmaker: Shannon Letandre

Contact: National Film Board of Canada and APTN/L'Office national du film du Canada et APTN

Synopsis: The Visit tells the true story of a Cree family's strange encounter one winter night, which results in a conversation beyond words.

Filmmaker: Lisa Jackson

Contact: National Film Board of Canada and APTN

Producer: Selwyn Jacob

Year of Production: 2009

Distributor Information: National Film Board of Canada and APTN

Country: Canada

Synopsis: Combining archival photos with new and found footage, Red Ochre is a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it's like growing up Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland, while living in a culture of denial.

Synopsis: This animated short, inspired by the Mi'kmaq legend, "The Stone Canoe" explores aboriginal humour. We follow Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on a cross-country canoe trip to become a man.

Synopsis: Inuit filmmaker Jobie Weetaluktuk mixes archival and new footage to make a statement about the appropriation of his culture throughout history.

Le cinéaste inuit Jobie Weetaluktuk combine séquences d'archives et nouvelles images pour prendre position sur les différentes formes d'appropriation de sa culture au cours de l'histoire.

Filmmaker: Jobie Weetaluktuk

Synopsis: A stunning display of a stop motion animation, Dancers of the Grass vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations.

Éblouissante démonstration d'animation image par image, Les danseurs de l'herbe illustre avec éclat la majesté de la danse du cerceau, une tradition symbolisant l'unité de toutes les nations.

Synopsis: Crossing the Line turns the politics and conflicts of a playground sandbox into an allegory for the way nations treat one another, and the borders seem to do more harm than good.

Synopsis: Carrying Fire weaves together animation and live action to show how the fire of our spirit is passed from one camp and one generation to the next.

Feu portant entrelace animation et réel pour illustrer la façon dont le feu de notre esprit se transmet d'un campement et d'une génération à l'autre.

Filmmaker: Marie Burke

Synopsis: At twenty-six, Noel Starblanket is one of the youngest Indian chiefs in North America--twice elected chief of the Starblanket Reserve, and also elected vice-president of all Saskatchewan Indians. His great-grandfather's advice was to "learn the wit and cunning of the White man." That he did.… Uqalimakkanirit

Synopsis: A moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. He had been taken from his home at the age of four because of family problems, and spent the rest of his seventeen short years moving in and out of twenty-eight foster homes, group homes and shelters in Alberta.… Uqalimakkanirit

Synopsis: At the 1956 gathering of the Blood Indians of Alberta, the exciting spectacle of the Sun Dance was captured on film for the first time.… Uqalimakkanirit

Synopsis: Building a canoe solely from the materials that the forest provides may become a lost art, even among the Indians whose traditional craft it is. In this film, César Newashish, a sixty-seven-year-old Attikamek Indian of the Manowan Reserve north of Montreal, builds a canoe in the old way, using only birch bark, cedar splints, spruce roots and gum.

Synopsis: The Hudson's Bay Company's 300th anniversary celebration was no occasion for joy among the people whose lives were tied to the trading stores. This film, narrated by George Manuel, president of the National Indian brotherhood, presents the view of spokesmen for Canadian Indian and Métis groups.… Uqalimakkanirit

Overview of Tipi Raising (Video 1)