Tag Archives: film

Cyber Traveler: Final Post

After some communication with the instructor I decided to use the plethora of information gathered in this weblog in a paper or slide show rather than a website for teachers. Upon closer examination, I don’t believe a website would do the amount of information justice and I want to make sure it isn’t cluttered. I was also reminded to focus on the cultural aspects and how it is a difficult concept to teach to those who aren’t within the aboriginal culture themselves. Here are my final resources, which I feel are most focused for my final paper.

 

1.Celebrating Canada’s Indigenous Peoples Through Song and Dance

This pdf focuses on how to teach indigenous music and dance. With my general focus being on introducing the culture to my physical education lessons, I wanted to ensure I touched upon every aspect, not only dance, of indigenous cultures. I am also reminded here, that certain dances and music are sacred to specific regions and cannot be presented in others. 

2.First Nations Music in Canada

This link focuses on the history of music in aboriginal peoples. It included quizzes and even an activity. It would be an excellent resource for teachers and students alike. I have yet to include any real music focused resources and since dance is the focus, music should go along with it. This would be an excellent fine arts cross-curricular activity that would allow students to research some of the origins of the music they will be dancing to. 

3. Newswire Article: Strength in Dance

Since my final project is how to meld indigenous dance and technology, I felt it necessary to include video or media that teachers could use to show their students as inspiration. The above is a great motivator for students who may not be interested in the concept of indigenous dance. It focuses on the physical aspects of dance, which may be a great motivator for some older students who may be more interested in sports than dance. It creates a great image of what can be accomplished through dance.

4. Indigenous People in Film

While my audience is mostly elementary school, the following could be used for upper elementary grades and high school students . The idea was to have students record their dances and edit them, essentially doing a short film making type unit. I would like to use this with the elementary school students too and think it could easily be modified. They may not be able to film themselves but I believe a lesson on editing could be easy for the middle elementary grades. The younger grades could use technology in different ways such as viewing music and dances via the internet as opposed to live.

Finally,

5. Participaction

Since the whole concept of my final project is to integrate technology into physical education, it is only fitting I source something that gives resources to do so seamlessly. While this website has many apps and programs that use technology in the gym, several of them would only work for high school classes. However, the one app that would allow this indigenous dance unit to be successful is the Show Me app. This app allows teachers to record their lessons, and upload them. This would be fantastic for sharing dance lessons with other teachers, and even for students to upload their dances for future viewing.

Promoting and protecting language through media, technology, and connected communities.

First Peoples’ Cultural Council

The First People’s Cultural Council is a BC Provincial Crown Corporation formed in 1990 and supported by the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Act with a mandate to assist BC First Nations in their efforts ot revitalize their languages, arts, and cultures.

As my research is focussing on the use of technology for the preservation of language, I was interested to see this site outline First Nations’ language support across various funding categories, including:  Mentorship-Apprentice, Language and Culture Camps, the BC Language Initiative, and the FirstVoices resource that I have mentioned in previous posts.

This site is a fulsome resource for many facets of language learning and language preservation including a Language Toolkit for communities wishing to develop language revitalization projects.

 

Status of Aboriginal Languages in Canada

This page is not so much a tremendous resource, as it is a great infographic (and who doesn’t love infographics) provided by a company called WinTranslation, which is an Ottawa-based for-profit translation service.  Providing language translation is important for many reasons in the corporate, advertising, and communications world, and I was very pleased to see that this company provides peer-reviewed translation services into over 35 of Canada’s Aboriginal Languages.

Census 2016: The Aboriginal Languages of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit

This Statistics Canada webpage is a summary of information from the 2016 Canadian census and is current as of October 25, 2017.  It contains a number of significant highlights including a growth of over 3% in the number of Aboriginal People who could speak an Aboriginal Language over the past decade.  So much of what we read speaks of a decline in Aboriginal language use, and more concerning, the growth in the number of Aboriginal languages in Canada that are in danger of becoming extinct – in that light, this census data is encouraging.

The census data also points to young Aboriginal people learning their languages at a younger age, and an uptick in Aboriginal language instruction.

First Haida language film offers rare, powerful glimpse of Haida people

OK, perhaps this is veering off the web-based resource as well, but it is very connected to my research theme, and super relevant to the discussions in the course.  I stumbled across this CBC – The National article (and then, as one does, many other articles on the same topic) this week, and was excited to see how film and technology are playing a role in preserving language and culture in this surprising project.

Creating a feature-length film in a language that only a few people speak is both a tremendous undertaking (who can learn and speak the language well enough to fill the roles?) and a significant financial investment.  While the first is a logistical challenge, the second represents a pattern of hope in the restoration of traditional languages and can only mean good things to come.

Pathways to Technology – Interactive Map

Pathways to technology is a project aimed at bringing high-speed, reliable, and low-cost internet to First Nations.  Recognizing that connectivity brings access to health care, education, employment, and economic growth, this project looks to remove some of these barriers for remote, and typically under-connected communities around BC.

The link (in the title) directs towards an interactive map of the 203 First Nations around BC, and displays their name and connection type.  As an educator who visits these communities from time to time, this information is more than informative, it directs the kids of supports that we provide, and opens doors to different conversations.

Weblog 2

Weblog 2

http://www.nsi-canada.ca/2012/03/im-not-the-indian-you-had-in-mind/

I’m Not the Indian You Had in Mind  by Thomas King is a spoken word short featuring the author and two Indigenous actors. The actors are dressed as any North American does in the  21st century. This is contrasted with old “cowboy and Indian” western movie scenes playing in the background. Shots of the stereotypical Indigenous person riding horses or shooting bows and arrows emphasizes the disparity between real Indigenous people and their stereotyped big screen counterparts. The props used, like the cigar store Indian, add to that message, that the Indian you have in mind, is not a real person.

 

http://www.npr.org/2017/06/20/533653471/sherman-alexie-says-hes-been-indian-du-jour-for-a-very-long-day

Sherman Alexie Interview on NPR about his recent memoir of growing up on reserve. The interview also includes a reading of a chapter. Sherman Alexie is often seen as the voice of the Native American. His writing is funny, heartbreaking, honest and accessible for students. His book “The Absolutely True Diary of  Part Time Indian” is a favourite among students, and has also landed on several banned book lists for its raw language and sexuality. I always recommend this book in spite of some people (mostly parents) who are uncomfortable with the topics included in the novel. It is a realistic portrayal of how 14 year old boys think and talk to each other. Because of the popularity of the novel Sherman Alexie is often go to voice of Native writers. He responded to this by saying

“I really hope that like 10 or 12 Native writers, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, really launch into the national consciousness …” he says. “So I don’t have to answer all the questions, so I don’t have to get invited to all the conferences. Share the burden of being a public figure Indian! Come on, people! Hurry up, finish your books!

 

The following links are to documentaries created by Indigenous women. These are excellent examples of Indigenous women using technology and art to express and consider cultural issues.

 

Headdress

http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/shorts/headdress

In “Headdress” a young woman, JJ Neepin, recreates a portrait of her grandfather. JJ Neepin and her photographer, Nadya Kwandibens, discuss the significance of the headdress. The cultural appropriation of headdresses has been debated lately has celebrities and concert goers have been spotted wearing them at outdoor festivals, the debate also surfaces as Halloween approaches. As she puts the headdress on Neepin says she can feel the weight-physically and metaphorically. This is a short doc (under 6 minutes) that would be a great way to start a conversation about cultural appropriation of the headdress.

 

Four Faces of the Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWe–sysNkk

“Four Faces of the Moon” is an animated short film by filmmaker Amanda Strong. The character travels through time to witness history and colonization of Indigenous people. The film centres around the decimation of the buffalo as a means to terminate the Indigenous people that depended on them for survival.  I want to focus my research on Indigenous women and their involvement in STEAM. This film is a great example of a woman involved in the creative and technical side of filmmaking.

 

The Oak Legacy

http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-oka-legacy

“The Oka Legacy” is a documentary about Oka crisis in the 90s and focuses on the role women played in the protests and the impact it had on young aboriginal girls, some of whom went on to be leaders in Idle No More. I was a child during the Oka Crisis and remember hearing bits about it, but did not ever really understand what is meant. Watching it now I was shocked. The tensions between the Mohawk and the town didn’t shock me, but the violence did. This would be an interesting film to watch with students now and compare and contrast what they see with current issues and protests in Canada and the United States.

Module 2 – Digital Storytelling – Who tells the story?

In progressing through this course, I have learned so much. Back in module one, I thought that I could be a very active participant in the process of preserving Indigenous culture through digital storytelling (in all forms).  In this module, I have come to understand that my previous understanding was short-sighted. This research weblog entry looks at various examples of stories (and information) being recorded (or NOT recorded) by Indigenous people themselves. While motives may be pure, the slide into cultural appropriation is subtle, but prominent in so many cases.  As I begin to shift my research, I will stay in the realm of digital storytelling, but look at it more from a different angle than originally planned.

Cry Rock – a short film by Banchi Hanuse (Nuxalk Nation)

With less than 15 Nuxalk language speakers and storytellers remaining, does it not make sense to capture these stories in video or audio form?  The answer is not as simple as you might think.  This film explores the conundrum of oral tradition in an increasingly digital world.  

Why can students eagerly recall what happened on last week’s epi

sode of Hannah Montana, but think they can’t memorize a story passed along orally?  “It’s just a state of mind … there are so many influences affecting our people.”  

“Oral storytelling is more than the words being spoken.  Our stories and language cease to be a part of us if they only exist within a recording.”

Note: the site states that the film is only available for free viewing until October 27th, it is however, available at the UBC Xwi7xwa Library.

N’we Jinan – a different way to express identity and culture

Amy Parent comments that “Indigenous knowledge can be expressed in multiple ways, and I think that ties into what we are talking about today – the digital realm.”  N’we Jinan is a non-profit production company that seeks to capture the voices of indigenous youth, empowering them to share what they feel is an important message.  

Starting with a question, such as “What does it mean to be an Indigenous youth in Surrey?”, students are assisted in writing and recording a song and music video to share their message.  With examples from across Canada,

 

Native Appropriations

This site, (perhaps more of an updated version of the chat-boards that Zimmerman refers to), claims to be a  “forum for discussing representations of Native peoples, including stereotypes, cultural appropriation, news, activism, and more.”  I came across it while looking for Native Appropriations in the world of professional sports (Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins).  This site has a page dedicated to “Natives Against Redsk*ns”, but also offers a range of information and opinions about appropriated Indigenous culture and ties from other current events to Indigenous issues.

 

First Voices

Zimmerman comments that CD-ROMS are an excellent media for preserving Indigenous languages.  Of course, since the time of his writing, the internet has vastly improved, and is able to stream information exponentially faster, and store vast amounts of information efficiently – enter First Voices.

First voices is a BC-based suite of web-based tools designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving and teaching.  It contains thousands of text and audio entries from Indigenous Nations around Canada.  Much of the audio (both words and phrases) are recorded by local elders, and are categorized alphabetically or by topic.

(Here is a Nuxalk welcome, made available on the site.)

WELCOME
YAW, SMATMC UKS!
QALXALULHM TS UULH LHUP STUTWINAKMTS AP S PUTL’ AP!
YA TI SLQ’ TS TC SKA ACWSALC AP ALH TIS S LHK’MSTALH TS! WAY!

HELLO, ALL YOU FRIENDS!
I WELCOME YOU ALL AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!
I AM GLAD THAT YOU ALL ARE LEARNING OUR LANGUAGE! (OKAY)!

While many of the entries are available to the public, some are password protected at the request of the language community.

First Voices also includes instructional guidance for groups wishing to participate in language archival. It recommends recording tools and methods, and simple training for submitting entries.

 

First Nations Films

In keeping with the theme of digital storytelling (or perhaps, moving slightly away from the theme, in that I originally thought that anybody could make these digital stories), First Nations Films is a film company that creates and distributes films and documentaries for, by, and about Indigenous people.

 

Each of the films in their collection has a trailer available on their catalogue site, and is available for purchase through the site. Watching the trailers is a great starting place for exploring the world of Indigenous film-making and production.

Entry 4: imagine NATIVE

Imagine Native is a Toronto based Indigenous run media company. They are a non-profit society with the aim of  distributing a breadth of Indigenous created media content. In addition to organizing film festivals and screenings, they offer workshops and resources for emerging artists (http://www.imaginenative.org)

Hidden in their publication page, there are numerous topical essays related to arts and technology. This content is worth a lengthy glance.  They also offer a quick preview for their film festival content.

This is a great resource to find films that are not advertised or supported by large format media.

 

Entry 5: NFB Archive Film Remix – Souvenir

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.

Web Travel Stops in Module 1

Weblog for Module 1

Indigital Storytelling

This Australian company has created an augmented reality storytelling platform that brings cultural stories, art, place and objects to life through animation. It describes itself as being like “Pokemon Go but for Indigenous knowledge systems.” When pointed at pre programmed objects (card set, or tshirt), it comes to life and tells its story. This app began on Kickstarter in May and was funded in June. The woman that started the company is of indigenous heritage and employed cultural leaders to assist in the development of the app. The app works anywhere in the world, the internet is not a requirement and at the request of the Senior Traditional Owners the AR experiences are placed based only.

https://www.indigital.net.au/

 

Reel Injun

This film is a well researched look at how the media has influenced the perception of aboriginal people, starting from one of the first films made, to the western genre and beyond by a Canadian Cree filmmaker. It looks through the decades of the 20th century at social justice issues and what the impact of the media had on the issues, outcomes and the perceptions by North Americans, such as Wounded Knee. In the early 70s Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place to the Academy Awards. When he won for The Godfather she declined on his behalf, citing the treatment of aboriginal people in American films and television, as well as the events at Wounded Knee. There is a phenomenal cast, with interviews with people directly involved with film making, all with great stories. This film is very watchable and in my experience, students really enjoy it as well. https://www.nfb.ca/film/reel_injun/trailer/reel_injun_trailer/

 

Native Princesses

This series on APTN discusses the idea of beauty in Aboriginal cultures and the effect mainstream media has on how indigenous people see themselves. In one episode indigenous actors discuss how difficult it can be to get roles in television and film. One woman speaks about how she doesn’t look ‘native enough’ and even other Aboriginal people comment on her appearance as not being ‘really native’. It also has episodes on cultural appropriation; FNMI fashion designers and missing and murdered indigenous women. One episode about the frequency girls that girls are taken from reserves under the guise of modelling and sold into sex trafficking is particularly disturbing. It brings to light issues that are not discussed openly in mainstream culture, but should be.

http://nativeprincesses.ca/en/about

 

Schooling the World

This film questions the need for all children to attend school, a western approach to ‘modernizing’ cultures around the world. It discusses the detriment that western education has brought to cultures, while trying to “pull people into dependence on the modern centralized economy”. It is a fascinating film that will no doubt cause teachers in particular to rethink their views on the purpose of education.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/schooling-the-world-2010/

 

Uncontacted Tribes: The Last Free People on Earth

In 2010 a photo was taken of a man and children in Brazil. It is thought to be one of the last uncontacted tribes on earth. The response to that photo was incredible, with calls for protecting the people and their land. Times has certainly changed when the general public in the western world would have seen a photo like that and thought it was their duty to ‘civilize’ and bring technology to the tribe. This article discusses the choice that uncontacted tribes have made to remain uncontacted. A different way of life is not backwards, or inferior and the rest of the world should respect that.

https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2011/04/01/uncontacted-tribes-the-last-free-people-on-earth/

Module Four – Culturally Responsive Inclusion of Stories

Taking into account the importance of involving community members along with educators as co-creators of culturally responsive education with a sense of place, I wanted to explore what resources support or exemplify such partnerships and approaches to learning and storytelling.

(1) Listening to Our Past

With the community support and involvement of sixty-seven Nunavut elders, ten scholars, dozens of students and numerous interpreters, translators and proofreaders, twelve books were made available online on this site, most of which were produced as a research project, Iqaluit Oral History. It is a tri-lingual site with dynamic links to imagery and stories spanning a range of relevant topics. The Francophone Association of Nunavut hosts his website, produced in partnership with multiples parties including the Nunavut Arctic College, the Iqaluit Elders Society, Laval University, the governments of Nunavut and Canada, and many others.

(2) National Film Board of Canada Unikkausivut – Sharing Our Stories

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), in collaboration with a number of Indigenous government and community organizations, selected more than 60 films from its collection that represent all four Canadian Inuit regions (Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, Nunavut and Inuvialuit). Some are available in Inuktitut. Filmmaking reflects multidisciplinary and highly collaborative work, exemplified in some of the traditional stories found on the NFB site. For example, animator Co Hoedeman’s work is represented in films such as Luumaq, The Owl and the Raven, The Owl and the Lemming and The Owl Who Married a Goose. Although NFB is famous for animation and documentary, and many of its Indigenous stories are documentaries, traditional stories, produced in collaboration with a range of community members, are present in the collection.

(3) Culturally Responsive Instructional Resources for American Indian/Alaska Native Students

The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) is a collaboration of WestEd and CRESST, two American leaders in the standards and assessment field. This page on their site provides an extensive list of resources that support culturally responsive teaching for American Indian/Alaska Native students and whose lessons can be applied to other Indigenous contexts. CSAI defines culturally responsive teaching as “the application of cultural knowledge, prior experiences, perspectives, and performance styles of AI/AN students to develop more personal connections to classroom learning.”

(4) Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching

The Education Alliance at Brown University has published a page dedicated to communicating the principles of culturally responsive teaching. This is a simple and useful reference (with resources) that could be modeled or adapted by educational organizations seeking to define and educate its stakeholders, and hold itself accountable for its own approaches to culturally responsive education. It defines the characteristics that the institution operates according to, by explaining What, Why and How under each of the following:

  • Positive perspectives on parents and families
  • Communication of high expectations
  • Learning within the context of culture
  • Student-centered instruction
  • Culturally mediated instruction
  • Reshaping the curriculum
  • Teacher as facilitator

(5) Miscellany: Publications

The following publications cover a range of pedagogical and social issues that can inform culturally responsive Indigenous education in Canada. They are listed in no particular order, reflecting diverse geographic and social perspectives that contribute to the larger discussion.

 

Module Two – Storytelling Distribution Platforms

As part of my travelogue of research on indigenous storytelling, I ventured into a related direction. Our module’s discussion of self-representation in media inspired me to explore distribution. After all, why tell a story if it can’t be shared? For Indigenous storytellers looking to share stories with wider audiences in Canada and internationally, what are the options? Who are potential distribution partners? Are Indigenous players in the arena? Which distributors support film media? Publishing? New media? Who is helping to develop and share spoken, artistic and printed stories and artwork?

I realized that many oral and dance traditions might be captured with screen-based media and fall into the documentary realm. Although sites such as Native Dance contain over 100 videos of footage and hundreds of images, providing a wealth of information on dance traditions from coast to coast in Canada, they do not lead to any dedicated distribution channel. So far, most astounding to me is typing in “Aboriginal Dance” on YouTube, which reveals a plethora of resources, a never-ending sea of videos uploaded by multiple users – so I credit YouTube as a valuable exhibitor, but not a dedicated one.

Here is a look at some of my key discoveries in the area of distribution:

(1) Indigenous Feature Film Production in Canada: A National and International Perspective

This is a major report published in October 2013, commissioned by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (imagineNATIVE) whose mandate is “to foster and promote the Aboriginal film and media sector.” It was funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Telefilm Canada. The report examines all aspects of Aboriginal feature film production in Canada, including funding and distribution, and makes recommendations for further development. The role of government-supported organizations in recognizing and including Indigenous cultures as part of Canada’s identity and cultural landscape appears to be essential to preservation and growth of this cultural industry sector.

(2) Indigenous Screen Office for Canada

(Almost) hot off the press! Announced on June 12, 2017 at Banff World Media Festival, Canada is about to get a new Indigenous Screen Office tasked with “supporting the development, production and marketing of Indigenous content.” This initiative is the result of a collaboration of key audiovisual industry organizations that include APTN, CBC Radio-Canada, the Canada Media Fund (Supporting and developing the Indigenous screen-based industry in Canada), the Canadian Media Producers Association, the National Film Board of Canada, Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund and VICE Studio Canada. What promising industry leadership!

(3) Isuma Distribution International Inc.

This was the only distributor I could locate so far of its kind. IsumaTV bills itself as “a collaborative multimedia platform for indigenous filmmakers and media organizations.” It is a project of Isuma Distribution International Inc., “Canada’s first media distribution company specializing in Inuit and Aboriginal films,” and works in coalition with a range of partners such as producers and non-profits.

Other major film distributors have been quoted as wishing to see more Indigenous stories, but I was unable to find many dedicated to Indigenous content. One that did stand out is the Winnipeg Film Group, with a dedicated Indigenous Filmmaker Catalogue. Other organizations such as the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition support a range of development and funding activities, but within a network of partnerships.

(4) First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Publishers and Distributors

Turning to print-based media, the University of Toronto Libraries has published a guide of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis publishers and distributors across Canada. Its focus is on Indigenous-owned publishers, and academic and small presses that publish the work of Indigenous authors. According to the site, “particular effort is made to include publishers of Indigenous language materials. More detail is provided on publishers from Central Canada. While an effort has been made to select publishers working in a good way, this guide should not be understood as an endorsement of any publisher or publication.” Started in 2010 and last updated in 2016, contact information is provided to allow for more updates. The site also links to UBC’s Aboriginal Publishers, Distributors & News Media homepage.

(5) 11 Indigenous podcasts for your listening pleasure

Finally, new media outlets. New Journeys, a Canadian-based online Friendship Centre resource, published a list of podcasts in January 2017. Auditory and sometimes visual in nature (when in video format), podcasts provide new channels for content distribution across digital spaces. Cited on the list is Media Indigena, a weekly Indigenous current affairs podcast hosted by Rick Harp, who himself published An Index of Indigenous Podcasts in July 2016.

As with last time, I found many more relevant sites, but those fall slightly outside the scope of this discussion at this time. Now that I have taken an overview in Module One, and explored distribution in Module Two, my next step will be to narrow my focus to a more specific storytelling medium originating in Canada and research the development and implementation or distribution of such works within Canada and abroad.

Module 3: A Little Bit of This and That

Module 3 is here and I cannot believe how fast it has come.  As I continue to look into Indigenous people and their link to Social Media.  I have found a few more site that I fond very interesting.

 

1. ImagineNATIVE

ImagineNATIVE is  Indigenous-run organisation based out of Toronto. This organization presents the world’s largest Indigenous film festival, this year they are focusing on reconciliation, and numerous other activities throughout the year.

ImagineNATIVE is committed to public education, as well as crushing stereotypes that exist.  They want to showcase Indigenous peoples through diverse media presentations from within our communities.  ImagineNAtive also conduct s professional development workshops and panels, public education initiatives, research projects, and curriculum/educators’ packages for secondary schools created from Indigenous pedagogies.

This year a short film called, STOLEN was featured, this piece was written by one of my old students, Kawennahere Jacobs.  The story centers around Sheena, a lost teenager, who is placed in a girl’s home. Seemingly forgotten and yearning for a life of freedom, she runs away, only to be picked up by a dangerous stranger. The directorial debut by actor Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs is a sober commentary of missing Indigenous women.

2. We Can’t Make The Same Mistake Twice

We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice was features at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Directed by celebrated documentarian Alanis Obomsawin, this film documents the events following the filing of a human rights complaint by a group of activists — including the Assembly of First Nations and the Caring Society, led by the heroic and indefatigable Cindy Blackstock.  The federal government was charged with woefully inadequate funding of services for Indigenous children constituted a discriminatory practice.

3.  A Tribe Called Red 

A Tribe Called Red has taken the electronic music community by storm in the last few years.  They blend, hip-hop, reggae and dubstep, with elements of First Nations music, and their music is often referred to as “powwow step”a style of contemporary powwow music for urban First Nations, weaving, singing and drumming into all of their song.

Here is one of their newest singles, STADIUM POW WOW.

4. Telling the Dark Story of Canada’s Residential Schools Through Ballet

Award winning author Joseph Boyden has had his novel The Orenda, transformed in to a ballet performed by The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Going Home Star is the name of their critically acclaimed original ballet, featuring music from Tanya Tagaq. The moving piece was commissioned with the support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the ballet was  brought the performance to 12 Canadian cities on tour during the spring.

5. Facebook at the North Dakota Pipeline

Many of you may have noticed that some of your freinds on Facebook have updated their statuses and they have “checked in” at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation even though they are not actually there.