Did you know that June is Indigenous History Month? Or that June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada? With so much else going on, it’s possible this hasn’t been on your radar.
But it should be. With the Black Lives Matter movement poised to finally make North America deal with its history of systemic racism, we as Canadians must absolutely come to understand the effect colonialism had and continues to have on the Indigenous peoples of this land.
CBC’s subscription TV service, Gem, is offering a great deal of programming free during the pandemic, including a bundle of shows and films they call Celebrating Indigenous Storytellers. It includes everything from 5-minute documentaries to 2.5-hour feature films like the award-winning Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Exploring this material can be a really gentle way to start learning about Indigenous lives. (Much of this material is also playing on CBC TV this month at various times. Check your local schedule.)
There’s a non-fiction series called Future History, in which two hosts , one who was raised with Indigenous traditions and one who is trying to recapture his Indigenous identity, travel the country meeting people who are putting traditional Indigenous Knowledge to use in the modern world. I love this show’s “future” angle because, important as it is to learn the histories of First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada, it is just as important to learn what life is like for Indigenous peoples today, to see them as families and communities who have hopes for their children and grandchildren.
I also recommend Birth of a Family, a POV documentary about four siblings who were taken during the “60s scoop” and placed with white families in different parts of Canada and the U.S, who reunite as 50-somethings.
There’s even United Church content in the series: a 21-minute documentary called Devout and Out focuses on ordained minister Susan Beaver, a lesbian and Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from the Six Nations reserve in Ontario, who ran for Moderator of the United Church of Canada at the last General Council.
And for something fun and close to home, you can check out the whole first season of Tracey Deer’s Mohawk Girls, a half-hour comedy-drama shot in Kahnawake.
Amy