Zachery Longboy

A visual poem about Indigenous pride, batons, caribou, and living with HIV and Parkinson's by renowned Indigenous media artist Zachery Longboy.

Visually poetic, this video diary explores the artists reunion with his family and his culture after years of separation.

Visually poetic, this video diary explores the artists reunion with his family and his culture after years of separation.

Positive Men begins as a docudrama which illustrates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on gay men in the early 1980s. Memories of New York and San Francisco are the backdrop for seven dramatic scenes which designate the intersection of community support, medical science, and gay politics that emerged in response to the AIDS epidemic. Words and images from these scenes resonate throughout the documentary portraits which follow. The interviews, conducted in Toronto and San Francisco (1993-1994), feature artists, filmmakers, AIDS community workers, writers and volunteers who have made unique contributions within the cultural and community responses to AIDS.

There are many memories of childhood that have slipped through the cracks. Most that I can recollect were of the differences in myself in comparison to the others around. Taken away at one week of age from my Indian community and given to a white foster family, my experience of the authentic Indian and where my placement is, within this dream of authenticity, comes from an infected locale.

Water into Fire is a mix of documentation of his performative piece and other scenes. In this piece, the artist continues his search seen in his earlier works for identity and placement in Canada's multicultural and First Nations arena. Longboy outs himself as a First Nations FAG, who is living with HIV and abruptly severs attached preconceptions of two-spirited peoples, forcing the First Nation's community to address him rather than the disease. In a contemplative and meditative search, Longboy recollects how HIV/AIDS has affected him and the community around him, revealing a strength through loss.

Water into Fire is a mix of documentation of his performative piece and other scenes. In this piece, the artist continues his search seen in his earlier works for identity and placement in Canada's multicultural and First Nations arena. Longboy outs himself as a First Nations FAG, who is living with HIV and abruptly severs attached preconceptions of two-spirited peoples, forcing the First Nation's community to address him rather than the disease. In a contemplative and meditative search, Longboy recollects how HIV/AIDS has affected him and the community around him, revealing a strength through loss.

An experimental video meditation exploring the artist’s position and placement in white culture. Continuing his search for identity within a fractured cultural environment, the artist reflects on his history of dislocation and negotiates with the boundaries that include aspects from within both the dominate White society and First Nations history and culture.