Innis College – Room 222

3 - 5 p.m.

 

Whether individuals are teaching language to our children or community members are reconnecting with the past by building canoes, this program exemplifies what filmmakers on the whole are attempting to do – to preserve.

 

Journey Within

1998           5:34

Dennis Jackson 

This animated story follows an old Aboriginal mushom (Grandfather) as he checks his week's worth of traps while hunting along the shoreline. As he ventures out with is dog sled team, he reflects on how he got to where he is. The expansion of communities has pushed his trapline further north just as his father before him. The encounter with the American hunters on his trip has ironic elements that will leave the audience questioning their own beliefs.
V tape

 

Keeping Our Traditions Alive

Spirit Wind           

2000       56:00     

Catherine Martin
Members of the Miawpukek First Nation of Conne River, Nfld. pursue their dream to build a birch-bark canoe and sail it up the coast just as their ancestors once did. This is an emotional film that captures the true spirit of several Miq Maq men on their journey to retrace the treacherous crossing from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia. Despite opposition and a lack of community support at first, the men persevere and slowly win the hearts of the community through their dedication and passion to reconnect with the past. 

Matues Productions

 

Gwishalaayt - The Spirit Wraps Around You  

2003           47:10     

Barb Cranmer       

Shot on location in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska, this film follows the compelling stories of six weavers who are continuing the traditional art forms of Chilkat and geometric weaving among coastal native peoples. Through the weaver’s personal experiences we come to understand in a profound way the beauty and complexity of an artistic tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years and continues to live on in the ceremonies and dances that bring the woven pieces to life.

Moving Images Distribution