Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin is a member of the Wabanaki nation and one of Canada’s most eminent documentary makers. She started out as a singer, author and storyteller before turning to cinema in 1967. For over forty years, she has been making movies for the National Film Board of Canada that describe the First Nations’ lives and concerns, giving voice to members of different indigenous communities. She has written around fifty documentaries, many of them awarded international prizes, most notably Kanehsatake: 270 years of resistance (1993), a feature film about the 1990 Mohawk uprising in Kanehsatake and Oka. In 2002, the multidisciplinary artist, writer and performer was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, a distinction recognising her dedication to the wellbeing of her people and the preservation of indigenous heritage. Hot Docs devoted a retrospective to her work, as did New York’s MoMA. Her cult album Bush Lady was re-released in 2018 on the independent label Constellation Records.
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Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place
Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place
Duration: 58 minutesSubscription access
Just north of the City of Edmonton lies Poundmaker’s Lodge, an addiction and mental-health facility specializing in treatment for Indigenous people. Founded in 1973 and still operational today, the Lodge’s programs and services are Indigenous-run and based in culturally appropriate recovery and healing techniques. Framing the short documentary with the words of the great Plains Cree Chief Pîhto...
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises
Duration: 3h28Subscription access
In this feature-length documentary from Alanis Obomsawin, the filmmaker returns to the village where she was raised to craft a lyrical account of her own people. After decades of tirelessly recording others' stories, she focuses this film on her own.
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Metis Child
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Metis Child
Duration: 58 minutesSubscription access
Richard Cardinal died by his own hand at the age of 17, having spent most of his life in a string of foster homes and shelters across Alberta. In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and...
Incident at Restigouche
Subscription access
On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Quebec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Quebec government’s decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police ...
The People of the Kattawapiskak River
The People of the Kattawapiskak River
Les membres de la Première Nation d'Attawapiskat, une communauté crie du nord de l'Ontario, ont été poussés sous les feux des projecteurs en 2012 lorsque le dénuement de la vie dans leur réserve est devenu un sujet de débat national. Dans ce documentaire, la réalisatrice abénaquise Alanis Obomsawin capte discrètement les histoires de cette communauté, mettant en lumière un passé de dépossession...
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Duration: 3h58Subscription access
In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protesto...
Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place
Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place
Duration: 58 minutesSubscription access
Just north of the City of Edmonton lies Poundmaker’s Lodge, an addiction and mental-health facility specializing in treatment for Indigenous people. Founded in 1973 and still operational today, the Lodge’s programs and services are Indigenous-run and based in culturally appropriate recovery and healing techniques. Framing the short documentary with the words of the great Plains Cree Chief Pîhto...
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises
Duration: 3h28Subscription access
In this feature-length documentary from Alanis Obomsawin, the filmmaker returns to the village where she was raised to craft a lyrical account of her own people. After decades of tirelessly recording others' stories, she focuses this film on her own.
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Metis Child
Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Metis Child
Duration: 58 minutesSubscription access
Richard Cardinal died by his own hand at the age of 17, having spent most of his life in a string of foster homes and shelters across Alberta. In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and...
Incident at Restigouche
Subscription access
On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Quebec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Quebec government’s decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police ...
The People of the Kattawapiskak River
The People of the Kattawapiskak River
Les membres de la Première Nation d'Attawapiskat, une communauté crie du nord de l'Ontario, ont été poussés sous les feux des projecteurs en 2012 lorsque le dénuement de la vie dans leur réserve est devenu un sujet de débat national. Dans ce documentaire, la réalisatrice abénaquise Alanis Obomsawin capte discrètement les histoires de cette communauté, mettant en lumière un passé de dépossession...
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Duration: 3h58Subscription access
In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness. Director Alanis Obomsawin—at times with a small crew, at times alone—spent 78 days behind Kanien’kéhaka lines filming the armed standoff between protesto...
