Han Nguyen & Vivian Zheng / Staff Reporters
Alanis Obomsawin is an Indigenous filmmaker, singer, and activist from Canada. Born on August 31, 1932, on the Odanak Reserve in Quebec. She has dedicated her life to giving voice to Indigenous peoples through the medium of documentary filmmaking.
“So much history can be lost if no one tells the story — so that’s what I do. I tell the stories. This is my way of fighting for social change.”
Alanis Obomsawin
At first, her move into filmmaking sparked controversy in her own community. Some elders believed that the act of recording Aboriginal stories on film was another means by which white society could appropriate Aboriginal culture, according to Playback.
“Many of the elders were afraid they were going to take our history and our stories as well as our land. We had lots of meetings about what should and shouldn’t be filmed. They wondered if it was better to be silent”, said Obomsawin.
However, Obomsawin eventually convinced them of the film’s potential but also respected their wishes to never film sacred ceremonies.
According to CBC News, during Obomsawin’s five-decade career, Alanis Obomsawin has made more than 50 films with the National Film Board of Canada since 1967. Her films primarily focus on the rights of Indigenous peoples and cover important historical events that have garnered attention not only within Canada but on an international level as well. She gives them the opportunity to share their stories through documentaries and shed light on the social, political, and cultural issues facing Indigenous communities.
The first film she wrote and directed for the NFB was Christmas at Moose Factory (1971), filmed at a residential school in northern Ontario.
The film tells the story of children who were separated from their parents during Christmas because of the residential school system. The entire documentary is composed of paintings made by these children. Narrated by the children themselves, their drawings are brought to life as they express the raw emotions that lie hidden within their hearts.
“When I became involved with the National Film Board, it wasn’t my idea because I didn’t know anything about film. But my fight for changes in residential schools led me to do a campaign to build a swimming pool on my reserve in the 1960s.”, Alanis said in the CBC interview.
Since then, Obomsawin has received numerous international degrees and awards for producing films that support Indigenous rights and give voice to those once silenced.
Among her documentaries, we cannot fail to mention ” Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance“, one of her most important films. The film highlighted the events in 1990 that were known as the “Oka crisis” in the town of Oka, Quebec. Obomsawin documents the events between the Mohawk Nation and the Canadian army over 78 days, capturing an important turning point in Canadian history.
According to Wikipedia, the film has won 18 Canadian and international awards, including the Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association and the CITY TV Award for Best Canadian Feature Film from the Toronto Festival of Festivals.
Beyond her individual achievements, Alanis Obomsawin has had a great impact on the Indigenous cinema landscape in Canada. She has inspired a new generation of filmmakers to tell their own stories and has helped to elevate Indigenous voices in the cultural sphere.
Moreover, as her films have been screened at film festivals and cultural institutions worldwide, sharing Indigenous stories and perspectives with global audiences, Alanis Obomsawin became a cultural ambassador for Indigenous peoples, both in Canada and internationally. Her efforts have successfully brought Indigenous culture closer to everyone and called on every individual to join hands in preserving Indigenous cultures and communities.
Additionally, Obomsawin inspires not only First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children but also non-indigenous people to have the courage to stand up for justice, for themselves and their community.
“We can’t allow terrible things to take over our minds and become victims. We have to use hardship to make us stronger so we can fight for a better place for everyone”
Obomsawin said in the interview with Playback.
Sources:
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Awards for Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Images:
Christmas at Moose Factory’s painting: Image 1 Image 2
Christmas at Moose Factory: Image 1, Image 2
Alanis Obomsawin was filming: Image 1, Image 2
Vancouver Biennale Distinguished Artist Award
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Feature Images: