Tag Archives: ImagineNATIVE

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.

 

3.3: Indigenous Feature Film Production in Canada: A National and International Perspective

Study can be found at this website

This is a large study by ImagineNative Film and Media Arts Festival that examines Aboriginal film production in Canada. This study makes the case that First Nations’ stories represent a huge untapped resource in Canada. Canada’s film industry has not yet fully explored the stories of indigenous peoples. Not only are these stories important to our collective identity as Canadians, but they also enormous commercial potential.