Welcome Introductions
Feature Film
Miss Navajo
Content Warning: This film includes scenes of Diné customary practices including sheep butchering which is part of the Miss Navajo Nation competition at 32:43-35:47.
Director: Billy Luther (Diné)
2007 | 60 minutes
For the past 50 years, the Miss Navajo Nation pageant has celebrated Navajo women and traditional values, language, and inner beauty. Held over a five-day period at the annual Navajo Nation Fair, contestants are required to showcase skills that are crucial to Navajo daily life, including sheep butchering, fry-bread making and rug weaving. Through interviews with new and previous pageant contestants, Miss Navajo reveals the importance of cultural preservation and the meaning of being a woman in Navajo culture.
https://itvs.org/films/miss-navajo
Short Films
Now is the Time
Director: Christopher Auchter (Haida)
2019 | 16 min
When internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
https://www.nfb.ca/film/now-is-the-time/
Mareikura
Directors: Alika Maikau (Kanaka Maoli), Tristin Greyeyes (Cree), and Tihini Grant (Māori)
2019 | 7 min
In keeping with her family tradition, a young Māori girl is unduly pressured by her father to receive her moko kauae (chin tattoo). She is the last in her nana’s lineage. As she wrestles with her doubt and the weight of her responsibility, she questions the impact of her decision to uphold their family’s legacy.
http://www.steambox.co.nz/native-slam-shorts.html
Thirza Cuthand Is An Indian Within the Meaning of the Indian Act
Director: Thirza Cuthand (Plains Cree)
2017 | 9 min
Contemplating mixed race identity in Canada, Cuthand presents us with images of blood ties and land ties for indigenous people, and questions the use of the words “white passing” and “light skinned.” As a light skinned indigenous woman, Cuthand reiterates that racism and discrimination still happen for her, just in different ways. Community belonging is contrasted with the difference experiences she has from her darker skinned family. Ultimately, a video with more questions than answers, it situates the artist’s body in historical trauma and ongoing colonial survival.
https://www.vtape.org/video?vi=8806
Four Faces of the Moon
Director: Amanda Strong (Michif)
2017 | 13 min
Four Faces of the Moon follows the animated journey of an Indigenous photographer as she travels through time. She witnesses moments in her family’s history and strengthens her connection to her Métis, Cree and Anishnaabe ancestors. This is a personal story, told in four chapters through the eyes of director and writer Amanda Strong. The oral and written history of her family reveals the story — we witness the impact and legacy of the railways, the slaughter of the buffalo and colonial land policies. The film contains no English language, relying on sound, image and Indigenous voices to tell the story.
This multi-layered approach to storytelling may leave you with more questions than answers: it is an invitation to look into your own understanding of history, legacy and the importance in knowing who you are and where you come from.
https://www.spottedfawnproductions.com/four-faces-of-the-moon
This Is Who I Am
Director: Manuel Ibanez (Quechua)
Producer: Kalvin Hartwig (Bear Clan Anishinaabe)
2018 | 11 min
A young First Nations woman struggles with her identity in the big city. After a series of events, she realizes she can still be Anishinaabe, and in fact, it is her responsibility.
https://www.nfb.ca/film/this_is_who_i_am/