Tag Archives: indigenous media

M1, P5: IsumaTV & Oral Language

IsumaTV, launched in 2008, is “Canada’s first media distribution company specializing in Inuit and Aboriginal films.” The programming originated from a coalition including: Igloolik Isuma Productions (heavily referenced in Ginsburg, 2002); Nunavut Independent TV Network (NITV); Arnait Video Productions; Artcirq; ImagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival; Vtape; Native Communications Society of the NWT; and other non-profit agencies.

The IsumaTV platform is really beautiful. It’s a collaborative multimedia space, where each user can “design their own space, or channel, to reflect their own identity, mandate and audience.”

The platform and search functions rely on icons and colour-coded language, with menu options in Inuktitut Roman, Inuktitut Syllabic, English, French and Spanish. IsumaTV “honours oral languages” and “emphasize[s] oral Inuktitut uploads rather than syllabic texts.” Take a look at the record for this story about Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting, for example. They have the title, links, and a tag in Inuktitut.

All citations above are from: IsumaTV. About us. http://www.isuma.tv/about-us

M1, P4: Indigenous Screen Memories – Archives

I wanted to see if I could track down digitized versions of some of the content mentioned in Gingburg’s (2002) Screen Memories.

Nanook of the North was pretty easy to find and widely available, although the quality was not great. The film, originally produced in 1922, was among the first 25 films selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for it’s cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance. The essay that accompanies the Library of Congress record for the selection describes the documentary as “one of the most significant American documentaries: it operates as a Rosetta stone for debates about documentary ethics, representation, ethnography, orientalism.” You can read the full essay supporting the selection decision here.

As such a prominent film, it was quite easy to come by. The others were more challenging, but I used the IsumaTV platform to track down lots of other amazing items, including some pieces mentioned in Gingsburg (2002).

Nanook of the north (1922) Full film, https://vimeo.com/42775802

Qaggiq (Gathering Place, 1989) Full film, http://www.isuma.tv/isuma-productions/qaggiq-gathering-place

Atanarjuat (The fast runner, 2000) Trailer, http://www.isuma.tv/isuma-productions/atanarjuat-trailer

Nanook of the North, excerpt, http://www.isuma.tv/vintage-inuit-movie-collection/excerpt-nanook-north-first-documentary-ever

 

Ginsburg, F. D. (2002). Screen memories: Resignifying the traditional in Indigenous media. In F.D. Ginsburg, L. Abu-Lughod, & B. Larkin, B. (Eds.), Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain (pp. 37-57). University of California Press.

Zimmermann, P. R., & Zimmerman Auyash, S. (2015). Nanook of the North.[Online]. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, National Film Preservation Board.

M.1 P.4 ImagineNATIVE Film & Media

“Screen Memories” by Faye D. Ginsburg (2002) has led me to explore the Indigenous film, media, and television world a little deeper.

imagineNATIVE is the world’s largest presenter of Indigenous screen content.

“The organisation is recognised locally, nationally, and internationally for excellence and innovation in programming and as the global centre for Indigenous media arts. imagineNATIVE (legal entity: The Centre for Aboriginal Media) is a registered charity committed to creating a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made media art including film, video, audio and digital media.” (imagineNATIVE, n.d.).

imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival launched in 2000 and presents in Toronto every October. They also present the annual imagineNATIVE Film & VR Tour across Canada with a focus on remote communities. This website has past archives of previous festival films and media, as well as an INdigital space for digital and interactive creations. You can find dramatic features, documentaries, feature-length and short format films, podcasts, audio works, VR, and interactive games all created by Indigenous artists.

One example of a film you can find on imagineNATIVE is this stop motion picture BIIDAABAN (The Dawn Comes). A beautifully compelling story about maple syrup and shapeshifters.

BIIDAABAN (THE DAWN COMES)

References

Ginsburg, Faye D., “Screen Memories: Resignifying the Traditional in Indigenous Media in Media Worlds: Anthropology on a New Terrain, eds. Faye D. Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Brian Larkin, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002, 39-57.

imagineNATIVE. (n.d.). Original. Indigenous. https://imaginenative.org/about

Strong, A. (Director). (2018). Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes). [Film]. CBC Gem. https://imaginenative.org/imaginenative-playlist/2020/4/6/atanarjuat-the-fast-runner-2j7rb-aw7xs