Movies: First nations

Smoke Traders is an inside look at the world of the Mohawk tobacco trade....

This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the age of 4 due to family problems, he spent the rest of his 17 short years moving in and out of 28 foster homes...

Filmmaker/activist Melaw Nakehk’o has spent the pandemic with her family at a remote land camp in the Northwest Territories, “getting wood, listening to the wind, staying warm and dry, and watching the sun move across the sky.” In documenting camp li...

Three intrepid women battle for Indigenous women's treaty rights....

Sensationalized in the media as a high profile catfishing case involving an NBA superstar and an aspiring model, Shelly Chartier was portrayed as a master manipulator who used social media as her weapon. Through the sensitive and intelligent lens of ...

On the Kainai (Blood) First Nations Reserve, near Cardston, Alberta, a hopeful new development in Indigenous enterprise. Once rulers of the western plains, the Bloods live on a 1 300-square-kilometer reserve. Many have lacked gainful employment and n...

Restoration is a found-footage piece honouring Beau Dick's Copper Breaking ceremony on the steps of the BC Legislature during Idle No More in 2013....

Healing the Nation follows community members of the Toronto-based Aboriginal Healing Program as they rediscover their culture to heal from unresolved trauma. This empowering documentary dares us to think beyond mainstream medicine and embrace Indigen...

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The most isolated metal band in the world, Southeast Desert Metal, and their Aunty Kathleen, share ancient Arrernte culture with the world through song and painting....

A moving portrait of actress Tantoo Cardinal, travelling through time and across the many roles she’s played, capturing her strength and her impact—and how she shattered the glass ceiling and survived....

The story of a young Mi'kmaq girl whose name means "the light from the dawn."...

In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 19...

Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articul...

An Inuit youth trains to become a great archer in hopes of avenging the killing of his family – but the First Nations attackers were punishing a previous Inuit wrongdoing. Who will end the cycle of violence? THE WHITE ARCHER is an Inuit legend inspir...

Daniel and his friends have troubles with Indians on their way to Kentucky....

This documentary focuses on the goose hunt, a ritual of central importance to the Cree people of the James Bay coastal areas. Not only a source of food, the hunt is also used to transfer Cree culture, skills, and ethics to future generations. Filmmak...

Stoney Point Natives assemble at Ipperwash Provincial Park for what began as a peaceful protest....

A document of the originators of the DIY Rez Metal scene, and the bands that are now carrying the torch, including I Dont Konform, Mutilated Tyrant and Born of Winter. From a generator-powered show in the Arizona desert to a band practicing in a trad...

The Blackfoot bareback horse-racing tradition returns in the astonishingly dangerous Indian Relay. Siksika horseman Allison Red Crow struggles with secondhand horses and a new jockey on his way to challenging the best riders in the Blackfoot Confeder...