First Daughter and the Black Snake

The “Prophecy of the 7th Fire” says a “black snake” will bring destruction to the earth. For Winona LaDuke, the “black snake” is oil trains and pipelines. When she learns that Canadian-owned Enbridge plans to route a new pipeline through her tribe’s 1855 Treaty land, she and her community spring into action to save the sacred wild rice lakes and preserve their traditional indigenous way of life. Launching an annual spiritual horse ride along the proposed pipeline route, speaking at community meetings and regulatory hearings. Winona testifies that the pipeline route follows one of historical and present-day trauma. The tribe participates in the pipeline permitting process, asserting their treaty rights to protect their natural resources. LaDuke joins with her tribe and others to demand that the pipelines’ impact on tribal people’s resources be considered in the permitting process.

Pakatakan (route des portages)

Якутия - между мирами

A documentary road movie. Traveling across his homeland, the filmmaker explores what Yakut cinema is, and what it means to the Sakha people and to himself.

There's Something in the Water

Elliot Page brings attention to the injustices and injuries caused by environmental racism in his home province, in this urgent documentary on Indigenous and African Nova Scotian women fighting to protect their communities, their land, and their futures.

Innu assi (communautés innues)

Sous le shaputuan (rencontre Québecois-vs-Innu)

Innu aitun (connaissances traditionnelles innues)

Nukum (grand-mère)

Innu Nikamu (festival de musique autochtone)

Innucadie (festival du conte et de la légende de Natashquan, 1er édition)

Les filles de Shimun

Trick or Treaty?

Legendary Canadian documentarian Alanis Obomsawin digs into the tangled history of Treaty 9 — the infamous 1905 agreement wherein First Nations communities relinquished sovereignty over their traditional territories — to reveal the deceptions and distortions which the document has been subjected to by successive governments seeking to deprive Canada’s First Peoples of their lands.

Cree Hunters of Mistassini

An NFB crew filmed a group of three families, Cree hunters from Mistassini. Since times predating agriculture, this First Nations people have gone to the bush of the James Bay and Ungava Bay area to hunt. We see the building of the winter camp, the hunting and the rhythms of Cree family life.

Of Ravens and Children

Hasta el fin de Delfín

A few years ago the indigenous musician Delfín Quishpe uploaded a video clip on YouTube of his song Torres Gemelas without imagining the impact it would have. For some, the video was strange and in bad taste, however his charisma and his lyrics made him a celebrity. After ten years, Delfín still has not overcome the hangover of fame and now he struggles not to turn off the magic of his music, in a world of ephemeral stars in the digital age.

Mutsk Wuäjxtë’

Noemí, an Ayuukjä'äy woman reflects on the loss of her native tongue with a voice that blends into day to day life in Cerro Costoche community located in the Mixe mountain rage of Oaxaca.

The Hunters

An ethnographic film that documents the efforts of four !Kung men (also known as Ju/'hoansi or Bushmen) to hunt a giraffe in the Kalahari Desert of Namibia. The footage was shot by John Marshall during a Smithsonian-Harvard Peabody sponsored expedition in 1952–53. In addition to the giraffe hunt, the film shows other aspects of !Kung life at that time, including family relationships, socializing and storytelling, and the hard work of gathering plant foods and hunting for small game.

Kikkik

It is taking decades for Canada to come to terms with its history in the Arctic, and with its relationship to all its indigenous people. “Kikkik” is the story of government mistakes and neglect, of starvation, murder, freezing death, but, in the end, a kind of justice that helps restore our faith in human decency. In 1958, the Inuit woman Kikkik was charged with murder and criminal negligence leading to the death of her child. Her trial and our visit back to the place and to Kikkik’s children confront us with a legacy that’s still a challenge for Canada.

Bering. Equilibrio y resistencia

This documentary closely follows a group of people living in the Bering Strait and delves into the fundamental aspects of their daily lives, their survival, and the contrast between their traditions and the modern world. With extraordinary imagery, Bering portrays exceptionally well a community fighting to preserve its culture in this mythical part of the world.

Being prepared

As the global pandemic reaches into the Arctic Archipelago, Inuk filmmaker Carol Kunnuk documents how unfamiliar new protocols affect her family and community. Her vividly specific soundtrack juxtaposes snippets from local radio broadcasts, issuing health advisories in both Inuktitut and English, with the sweet sounds of children at play. A richly detailed and tender account of disruption and adjustment.