Elder
Violence against Indigenous woman is something we’d all like to sweep under the rug … both in mainstream Canadian society and within Indigenous families ourselves. It’s occurred for hundreds of years and is now ever present, and it is brutal and disgusting. Maria Campbell, an acclaimed Metis author from Saskatchewan, knows much about these sad realities in our communities. In this work, Maria sets out to hold a mirror out for Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people to peer into the never-ending legacy of colonial violence. In collaboration Shane Belcourt, the video is a series of heartbreaking vignettes, all wrapped around the imagery of a man in ceremony looking for hope and calling for the ancestors to help us all get back on the good road home.
Writer
Violence against Indigenous woman is something we’d all like to sweep under the rug … both in mainstream Canadian society and within Indigenous families ourselves. It’s occurred for hundreds of years and is now ever present, and it is brutal and disgusting. Maria Campbell, an acclaimed Metis author from Saskatchewan, knows much about these sad realities in our communities. In this work, Maria sets out to hold a mirror out for Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people to peer into the never-ending legacy of colonial violence. In collaboration Shane Belcourt, the video is a series of heartbreaking vignettes, all wrapped around the imagery of a man in ceremony looking for hope and calling for the ancestors to help us all get back on the good road home.
Aunt Anne (Cree)
Christmas at Wapos Bya starts with a Mushom's (grandfather's) need to pass along the ancient tradition of hunting. Food is running low and Christmas is just around the corner. The children want to help their grandfather, so they head out to find him. A violent snowstorm catches up with them, and before long, they are trapped in the wilderness. Will they be able to save Christmas?
Script
Kelly is a Métis man without treaty or hunting rights, struggling to sustain his traditional life. His daughter Theresa longs for a red dress from France that she believes will give her power and strength, as the bear claw once did for her great-grandfather Muskwa. When Theresa escapes an assault and Kelly turns his back on his daughter, he realizes that he must reconnect with his culture in order to make things right. Today, the red dress is a powerful symbol recognizing over 1000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.
