Christmas at Moose Factory

In October 2024, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art presented the first major retrospective in Quebec dedicated to the extraordinary work of Alanis Obomsawin. The exhibition's title? The Children Have to Hear Another Story.

Throughout her life, Obomsawin—singer, filmmaker, poet, and visual artist—has devoted herself to bringing Indigenous stories to the forefront, and above all, the stories of children. This profound, almost visceral commitment is already evident in her very first film, Christmas at Moose Factory.

With remarkable subtlety and grace, Obomsawin redirects our gaze away from the horror of children confined within the prison of the residential school system to reveal instead the vitality, humour, and radiant beauty of these young Cree children. Through sweeping camera movements and shifts in scale across the children's drawings, paired with a rich, immersive soundtrack, she draws us into a little-known imaginative world populated by threatening bears, "Indian angels," golden stars, snowmobiles pulling sleds, and a feast of muskrat. Once again, the humour born of resilience reminds us that light finds its way through the cracks, that life endures within every child, and that it is this recurring miracle that provides the strength to continue the fight for their rights and well-being. Alanis Obomsawin understood this deeply. Over the course of fifty years, she has made more than sixty films, all dedicated to Indigenous struggles and to the defence of Indigenous children.

Naomie Décarie-Daigneault
Tënk's Artistic Director