The National Film Board of Canada launches Indigenous Cinema, an online database of over 200 indigenous films. Indigenous film directors and programmers have selected their favorites here, along with clips.
Tag Archives: Canada
February & March 2012 Film Festivals
Just a quick note to let you know about two film festivals you may want to check out. The first ever PBS Online Film Festival will include a few films produced by the Native American Publication Telecommunication (NAPT), including I Survived, The Migration, and Horse You See. And, for those of you near Palm Springs, check out the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum’s 2012 Festival of Native Film and Culture which will include Smokin’ Fish. Their website lists the program, but you can also read more about the festival here. Let me know what you think!
#NAFVF11 Opening Night
Thursday, March 31st was the opening night of the 2011 Native American Film and Video Festival at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. This was my third time at the Festival and while I have always enjoyed myself in the past, this year, the organizers took it up a notch. So, I’d like to congratulate everyone involved with putting the Festival together. First off, while the Native Networks website remains an invaluable resource, I love this year’s festival website. Second, it was pretty cool that on opening night, the film screened online and the Q&A included questions from around the world via Twitter (the Festival hashtag is #NAFVF11, which I’ve been using to tweet about the festival). Finally, the director of the opening night film, Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change, Zacharias Kunuk, skyped in from the Arctic! Oh, and the Festival trailer was a nice touch, too. So, an all around great job of making use of technology to bring these films to the world and back.
And now, on to the show… The opening night film, Qapirangajuq, was directed by Zacharias Zunuk, who also directed the well known film Atanarjuaat/The Fast Runner. This documentary was a huge undertaking involving interviews with 60 elders from 4 communities who speak 5 different Innuit dialects and live in different parts of the Arctic. The elders discussed environmental concerns such as changing wind patterns which make it impossible to accurately predict the weather,* changes in the location of the setting of the sun, and the drastic melting of ice in the Arctic. The documentary presaged the festival’s focus on the environment (Friday, April 1 was largely devoted to films on the environment and ended with a panel discussion called “Protecting our Rivers”).
One of the highlights of the screening came during the Q&A, when an audience member asked co-director Ian Mauro about the correlation which the film made between the positioning of celestial bodies and the environmental crisis. Mauro, who has a doctorate in Environmental Studies, gave a great explanation, but in my effort to jot it down, I only caught interesting pieces. Elders from all over were commenting about the shift in the earth’s axis but Mauro could find nothing about it in the scholarly literature. However, scientists did stand up and take notice when Mauro described a process that is known to them as “refraction.” Due to the collision of hot and cold air in the Arctic, the sun creates an optical illusion which makes it appear at times of the year when it would not normally appear. Mauro noted that this oscillation process is the same that can sort of help you tell the future: if a walrus is oscillating in the horizon, it is a few hours away. Qapirangajuq is the Inuktitut word that comes closest to the English word “refraction” (I believe Mauro translated the word into English as “a pencil that looks bent in the water”). Hearing all this was a highlight to me because it was an instance of native people observing what scientists had not. (In that Russell Means video I referenced earlier, he also noted that scientists still had not come to understand that hair carries memory.)
One of the eloquent voices in the film was Innuit leader named Mary Simon. One of her simple yet powerful statements was that many who debate the environmental crisis focus on national boundaries, which is misguided because the environmental crisis affects us all, regardless of boundaries. Finding cross-cultural common ground in order to help solve the environmental crisis was a theme during the conference and highlighted in movies like River of Renewal. While refraction was a complicated idea to relay, it was surprisingly simple, yet disturbing, to understand how toxins, like yellow acid rain, precipitate, travel north to the Arctic and get locked there. In the film, interviewees noted that people in the Arctic are especially vulnerable since they will be the first to be affected from fish who have high levels of mercury. It was really striking to see our interconnectedness.
Besides showing us the importance of our interconnected actions vis-a-vis the environment, the film is more pointedly critical of Westerners’ roles in Innuit communities. Mauro chuckles while he acknowledges that his Inuktitut nickname is “the thief,” a name he says serves as a reminder of his position in the Innuit culture, where researchers are often seen as more interested in their research than in the local culture. One interviewee prompted laughter as he wonders where all the scientists who claim that the polar bears are in danger of decline are, since he sees no evidence of their disappearing. Another argues that it is actually outsiders, with their noisy helicopters and the collars that are placed on the bears, who are really harming these animals.
This is one of those movies that everyone should watch but in terms of scholarly interest, those teaching about the environment and Innuit culture will want to check this documentary out. In addition, I would recommend it as a way to sensitize science students and scholars doing scientific work in native or other communities to the concerns of the communities where they are studying or working and, ultimately, the big one we’re all inhabiting: the earth.
Mohawk Identity in Kahnawake
The debate over Mohawk identity in Kahnawake in Montreal, Canada was not on my radar until I watched the documentary Club Native, which I liked so much. I’ve recently read several articles about this issue (thanks to posts by Kendra Kennedy on [email protected]) which I’m linking to below.
A potential reversal of the “second generation cut-off” rule which limits interracial Mohawk membership to the grandchildren of Mohawk male and non-Mohawk female unions could result in a doubling of the population in Kahnawake and has set off a flurry of eviction notices to mixed race couples. Although the above regulation seems to favor Mohawk men who partner with non-Mohawk women, one of the articles notes that even young Mohawk men are raised knowing that if they marry out, they will be made to move out. Although the idea of evicting mixed race couples or denying Mohawk identity to children of mixed unions seems inhumane and extreme, and although some Mohawks argue that the evictions are culturally incongruous since outsiders have historically been allowed to integrate into Mohawk culture, the issue is problematized by internal fears that the space and rights that Mohawks have as a group will be undermined as more and more non-Mohawks are allowed to live in Kahnawake. This battle is sad, especially having watched Club Native and the effect that these measures of exclusivity which are based on blood quantum and not other more authentic expressions of identity, has had on various people, including those who are so commited to maintaining Mohawk culture. The entire debate is also really interesting in terms of trying to pin down a sometimes nebulous label like identity which is defined in different ways by different people. I’m currently working on my thesis which discusses native dress as an aspect of identity and it’s really interesting to see the ways that clothing’s significance changes even within a given historical period and how contemporary events influence these changes. The historical nature of these types of debates are also instructive. One of the articles notes that these evictions have had occured sporadically in the past, going all the way back to at least the late 19th century. Were these types of panics resurface each time native rights were perceived to be threatened? Really interesting and difficult questions.
Hubert Bauch. “Kahnawake band council meddles in people’s love lives, critics charge,” The Montreal Gazette. February 9, 2010.
Cornacchia, Cheryl. “’If you marry out, you move out’; Evictions; Couples ‘should have known better’.” The Montreal Gazette. February 11, 2010.
Hoss, Fabrice. “Mohawks kick non-aboriginals off lands in Quebec.” Taiwan News. March 3, 2010.
“Mohawk tribe evicts non-natives.” Public Radio International. March 8, 2010.
“Federal law could boost population, add tension on Quebec reserve.” Canwest News Service, March 23, 2010.
Remastering of 1914 film “In the Land of the Head Hunters”
I just went through the fall 2009 American Indian Library Association (AILA) Newsletter and, on page 9, saw mention of a project to remaster Edward Curtis’s 1914 film “In the Land of the Head Hunters,” which preceded “Nanook of the North” as the first feature-length film to star all Native North Americans. Rutgers University has a website at http://www.curtisfilm.rutgers.edu/ dedicated to the project, which includes cool audiovisuals as well as discussions about the historical context of the making of the film and how Kwakwaka’wakw consultants and descendants of the cast are working on the restoration project. It is an extraordinary audiovisual artifact made even more so by the way that it helped to maintain and stimulate a culture and how its preservation continues to contribute to the reflection of the past and to fomenting culture.
Club Native
Happy New Year folks! Comps. exam done and I’m back.
Only 10 months after I saw it at the 2009 Native American Film Festival at the NMAI in NYC, here is my summary of Club Native. In short: I thought it was a great film and highly recommend it!
Club Native traces the lives of four women and their relationship to their Mohawk identity. In order to obtain membership within their nation, two of the women must go before a council which uses Canada’s law regarding blood quantum as one of the factors in deciding whether they are to remain enrolled members. The transparency and fairness of the council comes into question and we hear the women’s compelling stories – why their bi-raciality does not make them any less Mohawk, except to some.
The other two women are in danger of losing membership not because of their blood quantum but due to their marriage partners – white men. The laws related to Mohawk women “marrying out” are not the same as they are for Mohawk men. Consequently, there is more pressure on women to marry in or relinquish membership to their community. I remember that the few people who seemed to be in favor of this status quo in the film were Mohawk men and I was curious as to why there was so much emphasis on marrying Mohawk men and not the other way around. That was one aspect of the film that I needed more clarity about.
The director, Tracey Deer, does a great job throughout but these two women’s stories are even more compelling. This may have to do partly with the fact that one of the women is Deer’s sister and we get a very intimate access to her life. And when I say intimate, I mean it: we see the birth of her child! There are many points in the film when I teared up and got goosebumps or laughed – as though these were people I knew. That’s how close you got. So, I think Deer is a really great director just based on that (she doubtless has gotten confirmation of this from all over but it was nice to see one of the men during the Q&A say that she has blossomed into a great filmmaker; Deer identified the man as someone from her community so it was an extra touching moment). But when that girl had her baby on film, I loved her (the sister is very endearing for her warm and funny ways) more for the honor of being able to see such a private moment. The other woman was an athlete who competed in the Olympics when she was younger and had even been featured on a high profile publication (Newsweek or Time). She was active politically both as a youngster and still is now. All the women were remarkable in their own way. Very poignant documentary – loved it.
For those of you interested, I found a related essay: Simpson, Audra. “Paths Toward a Mohawk Nation: Narratives of Citizenship and Nationhood in Kahnawake.” In Political Theory and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, edited by Duncan Ivison, Paul Patton and Will Sanders, 113-136. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. It’s pretty academic but it also contains some short narratives about how issues related to blood quantum affects Mohawks.
2009 Native American Film + Video Festival
I attended the Native Networks Symposium held on Friday, March 24 at the 2009 Native American Film + Video Festival. Since this blog was born several months later, I am only just now posting my thoughts. I’ll put this out in three installments, one for each panel I attended and one for the film screening I was able to attend. But before I do, I’d like to wish the Film & Video Festival a very Happy 30th Anniversary!
The “Mobilizing for Survival” featured panelists Mario Murillo, of WBAI and associate professor at Hofstra University, who discussed ACIN, the Northern Cauca Indigenous Association and the Colombian government’s divisive tactics toward indigenous groups. As an example of the power of grassroots media, Murillo noted how community video broadcast on CNN countered governmental arguments that people were not getting killed during clashes in Colombia (see article and video at 46:23). There are 87 indigenous groups in Colombia.
Elias Paillán (Mapuche), who began his talk by playing a musical instrument and noting the importance of the Mapuche language and instruments as conveyors of information, spoke about invasions into Mapuche territory historically and the principles of duality/complementarity.
Paul M. Rickard (Cree), executive producer of the “Finding Our Talk” series discussed the importance of preserving native languages and how non-confrontational filmmaking on culture is also a way to make an impact. He noted that a 2001 study predicted that in a century, only 3 of 50 native languages would survive in Canada (Ojibway, Cree and Inuktitut). He discussed how difficult it is to get funding for programs on (not to mention official recognition of) native languages in the United States and Canada. One example of this is a Mohawk show that is dubbed, rather than subtitled, in English and French. He also acknowledged the difficulty of reaching a broad audience since shows are aired early in the morning. (This brought to mind how Latino shows on American television are also broadcast very early in the morning and how there is sometimes a call for more people to tune in in order to increase ratings and both maintain shows and bump them into better timeslots.)
Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), President of the American Indian Law Alliance, noted how Canada supports native programming via funding more than the United States does. She also noted that the United States has a limited presence in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (the Eighth Session was held this May 18-29, 2009). Mario Murillo noted that if the United States gives little, Latin American governments give no support to native programming. They are mostly funded from abroad.
Next time, I’ll post some thoughts on the “Creating the Alternative: A Conversation with Four Directors” panel.
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