Souvenir is a NFB film remix project. Using archived film footage, Indigenous artists, Michelle Latimer, Kent Monkman, Caroline Monnet, Jeff Barnaby and Tanya Tagaq have created a series of films that explore Indigenous identity through the reclaiming of non-indigenous portrayals of Aboriginal communities (http://canadianart.ca/features/nfb-souvenir, http://blog.nfb.ca).
Below are links and descriptions of the four featured films:
Sisters & Brothers by Kent Monkman is a film that juxtaposes archived images of bison herds with images of residential school survivors. The film makes connections to the extermination of the bison population with the genocidal practices of white settlers.
Nimmikaage (She Dances for People) by Michelle Latimer challenges the construction of the Aboriginal female identity by white settlers.
Etlinisigu’niet (Bleed Down) by Jeff Barnaby comments on how the colonialist Canadian mandated initiatives to exterminate the ‘Indian problem’ has failed. That despite genocidal practices, Indigenous populations remain.
Mobilize by Caroline Monnet examines how Indigenous identity is constantly being pulled in two directions because of the influence of colonialist culture on Indigenous communities.