11- Alanis Obomsawin

Entry written by Jacklyn, Serena, and Philippe

Introduction

The three films we will present (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, The People of Kattawapiskak River and Le Peuple Invisible) are all about the lives of First Nations in Canada and how each community feels invisible in the eyes of the government. They each show in their own way how isolation to rights have impacted their lives and how little they get in retrospect to the average Canadian. One would think that in light of being the first people to discover and live in Canada, these communities would at least be treated equally in comparison to other Canadians . However, as shown in the three films, this is most definitely not the case.

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993,119 min 15s, Canada) is a film about a native community’s struggle with rights to their land. Directed by Alanis Obomsawin, this film brings light on the issues that many native communities struggle with throughout our country. The film documents the Oka crisis that occurred in 1990 where a Mohawk community fought for the land that the town of Oka attempted to claim for developmental plans where the Mohawks pines and burial grounds were located. Before the Oka crisis occurred, the Mohawk community attempted to legally claim the pines and the graveyard but the town refused. Which explains how the town of Oka was able to expand the golf course in the first place.  There was also no democracy involved in making the decision to invade the pines and the Mohawks had no say in the choices made. There was no answers or explanations given from the mayor of Oka and he was not open to hearing what the Mohawks had to say. Obviously, this way of governing a town is not subsequent to the idea of democracy. It is very hard to say, in light of the issue, that people (mainly the town council) are viewing the Native community as equals.

The film shows mainly the native community’s experience with slight glimpses at the town councils, the media’s and the military’s perspectives. Alanis Obomsawin narrates the film and follows the native community while capturing their opinions and emotional responses throughout the crisis . We see shocking scenes in the film like the Canadian military and the Mohawk’s men being forceful and intimidating towards one another. One can see great opposition between the two especially when the Mohawks blockade the bridge and the pines. The most shocking scenes are seeing the harm that this dispute caused to the community. We see children and women being aggressively handled by the SQ, as well as seeing a middle aged man suffer such serious physical harm from military soldiers that he’s rushed to the hospital. The film also shows home owners of the town being detained by police officers due to speaking out about the unjust decisions they are faced with. The film shows a very subjective view towards the indigenous people by making the authoritative figures (military commanders and SQ officers) seem ignorant and impractical. This film documents many signs of discrimination towards the Mohawk community by the military and SQ forces, such as having no rights to contact a lawyer, not allowing them to have access to medication unless they surrender and by damaging the Mohawks food that is delivered by the military. All of these scenes allow the audience to further comprehend how unfair it is for the native community to have to go to such extremes to have their rights protected and even in these extremes, they are not treated as equals regardless.

        The movement resulted in many Mohawks being detained by the SQ and with the town of Oka dropping the golf course expansion. This rebellion was one of the most publicized First Nations disputes to occur in the 20th century. Thus sparking many other native communities to end this “270 years of resistance”. Meaning it influenced other first nation communities to take a stand and give themselves a voice. One can say that governments throughout history have viewed native people with much ethnocentricity, meaning they have viewed their lives in terms of their own. This 270 years of resistance refers to many years of an attitude towards the indigenous people that included little respect and understanding of their rights as first nations.

The People of Kattawapiskak River

In The People of the Kattawapiskak River (Alanis Obomsawin 2012, 78 min Canada), the community reached out to the government because many were living in tents, trailer and temporary shelters (for example sheds). Attempts to get assistance in their community were dismissed by the governments and these attempts go as far back as 2007. By 2011, the First Nations chief Theresa Spence had already called three times Kattawapiskak as in a state of emergency. It is only in 2012 that new trailers were rushed to the community and needs were beginning to be met. The time it took for the federal government only further proves the discrimination that the Native community is still facing, even on a legal level. It is devastating to see how long the government took to handle the housing crisis up North. Furthermore, the First Nation’s community was criticized for spending a large sum of money on a new Zamboni. To many youth, the local arena was a safe refuge both emotionally and physically. In The People of Kattawapiskak, the criticism about buying a new Zamboni was not justified in this situation. In fact, the high suicide rates in the First Nation communities are just as important to resolve and consider as the poor living conditions.

The most touching parts of the documentary are the interviews where Ms. Obomsawin reaches out to the people of the community. Through these individual stories, we are made aware of the crisis on a very up close and personal level. Ms. Obomsawin films them in their homes doing simple everyday activities such as taking care of their children. As a member of the First Nations community, Ms. Obomsawin was able to create a bridge of trust and sincerity between herself those she was interviewing.  Thus she was able to share with us true and first-hand experiences of what happened during the housing crisis.  One of the interviewee’s houses looked to be in third world conditions; unequipped to handle the sub-arctic weather of northern Ontario.  In some instances it was seen that over 90 people were staying in one mobile trailer with only few bathrooms.  These trailers were hand-me downs from a neighboring industrial plant.  This trailer was not even the worst of its kind; there were some homes with holes in the floors and ceilings.  The community was not receiving proper housing seeing that the government sent in quick fixes, with mobile homes. Do to the arctic weather, these homes could not withstand freezing and defrosting and were literally falling apart at the seams.

When Alanis Obomsawim spoke, everybody listened. It is amazing to think that despite her easygoing and level tone, she projected so much passion about what she was talking about. Ms. Obomsawin told of her travels to various Native reserves and how they are always happy and willing to see and speak with her. Essentially she brings their stories and struggles to the general public’s attention. It is really interesting to note that she said that the best way we could help the cause was to write letters to the government. By saying this, it reinforces the fact that the situation the Native community faced and is still facing is extremely serious; serious enough that the only way to make a difference is to appeal to the government. 

Le Peuple Invisible

“Once so vast, the land of the Quebec Algonquin has shrunk dramatically. This hard-hitting documentary provides a sympathetic glimpse of a nation of 9,000 people who suffer in silence as the rest of us look the other way.” –National Film Board of Canada

Le Peuple Invisible, directed by Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie (2007, 93 min 19 sec, Canada) is a documentary that explains how Algonquians have been treated since the beginning of their colonization. In the beginning, the First Nations were allied with the French colonists. Iroquoians were allied with English colonists from New York. Between these two big clans, there was a total war zone for the control of the fur trade. The English were greater in number than the French and consequently won the war. The British King decided to split the colony into three regions: the first one being the English colonies, the second one was the colony of Quebec and the last one was the Natives’ territory. No one was allowed to cross into the Natives’ territory, unless the person who wished to go through it had been granted special permission from the authorities. However, after a couple of years, the King decided to take the Natives and put them all together, thus, the first reserves were established. At this time, they did not know that they lived in a new country, Canada. Their lands was property of the province of Quebec, as well as the property of federal government. Every time they tried to extend their territory, the government refused. The province of Quebec reduced the territory allotted for the reserves numerous times. The First Nations were treated like animals; they were not given the rights to do anything on the land unless the government approved it. It remained that way until today.

The First Nations are still living in small reserves such as Kanawhake and Kanehsatake. Their life conditions are horrible. In some reserves they do not have running water. Instead they have to take use a boiler and go to the river if they want to drink and wash themselves. In Grand Lac Victoria's reserve, the community is very little and isolated. 90% of children living in this village are cousins because they are so few people who immigrate to these places, therefore there isn’t any new blood in the village, and they simply marry each other. The community does not know how long they will be able to live like this because of the consanguinity in the reserve. Furthermore, 80 % to 85% of people are living on welfare and 60% of them are the youth of the community. Many couples have children because they like to continue the tradition of having a large family. A lot of young men would like to go to Cégep or University but they do not have enough money to pay for their studies, thus they abandon their ambitions for education and depend on welfare. They know that their prospects for the future are not bright and it brings down their strive for ambition and confidence in their lives. They begin to use drugs and alcohol much younger than Caucasians would on average. In Rapid Lake's reserve, it is easier to find cocaine, cigarettes and weapons than flour and it is not the only reserve like this, there are many in similar situations. All these things lead young people to commit suicide. Half of the young boys in almost each reserve try at least once to commit suicide because they feel they do not have any future.

The Canadian government doesn’t offer assistance for their situation. Each time the First Nations ask for a subvention, they are refused. Subventions would help to construct decent schools and create jobs, which would contribute to a healthier development for the community. People outside the Native community complain when a protest occurs but what these people do not comprehend is they have really valid reasons to doing so, because even prisoners are treated much better than they are. 

A Reflection

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, The People of Kattawapiskak River and Le Peuple Invisible are each proper examples of how a democratic country that is known for being multicultural and diverse, is not fully abiding by its own policies which instate freedom and especially equality. 

We know from meeting with Alanis Obomsawin, that her goal is to get people's stories heard. She is much more in tuned with the sound, story and voice rather than the image itself.  In this short interview, we again get to see and understand how important vocalizing people's perspectives are to Alanis Obomsawin. She speaks about how the National Film Board of Canada allows her to films to be very open and diverse, rather than being limited or having boundaries. 

In both documentaries, it became obvious that the First Nations communities were being discriminated against. In Kanehsatake, the land clearly belonged to the Natives; in fact it was their burial ground and therefore already being used. It is terrible to think that the mayor of Oka was so ignorant as to think that this was not a good enough reason to not use the land. Currently, years after Europeans have immigrated to North America these First Nations are still being treated the way they are. Unfortunately, it was only in the 1980s that they even became recognized as citizens of Canada. It’s unnerving to think that in a liberated country like Canada we could be taking one-step forward but two steps back. In The People of Kattawapiskak, the criticism about buying a new Zamboni was not justified in this situation. In fact, the high suicide rates in the First Nation communities are just as important to resolve and consider as the poor living conditions.

We know from in doing the third assignment that there is a charter which claims: “by virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right, freely and without external interference, to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and that every State has the duty to respect that right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.” We also know after viewing these films that very little of claims are being respected. Especially the part of the resolution that states that every State has the duty to the respect that right in accordance with the Charter. It truly appears that the Canadian government is doing the complete polar opposite of what this Resolution demands. I personally feel that these means are not being met for the native communities because it is easy to ignore the people who (because of us) have much poverty, mental illnesses and basically no power. When the government holds and controls the money and our countries institutions. Luckily, the native communities have tons of integrity, strength and intelligence to not let this reality of being pushed away go on any longer.

A Final Thought

As a society, we have the moral responsibility to keep ourselves informed about social crises and be aware of what we can do to help. During this specific crisis, Idle No More, a campaign dedicated to “calling on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water” was started. It is campaigns like this that will truly make a difference to social injustices everywhere.