Films and series to further your engagement with truth and reconciliation
Written by Adam Kline
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (also known as Orange Shirt Day) happens on September 30. It’s an invitation for Canadians (and maybe more importantly, Christians) to take part in the ongoing work of sharing and hearing the truth of what has happened and is still happening to Indigenous brothers and sisters in Canada, and committing to reconciliation and building right-relationships.
In 2020 NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community published a paper called Stewarding Sacred Seeds. The paper was written by group of Indigenous and Settler Christian leaders who aim to encourage churches in Canada to take part in reconciliation and repudiate long-standing social and legal frameworks that have advantaged Settlers and infringed on the rights of Indigenous peoples.
One of the emphases in Stewarding Sacred Seeds is the importance of stories and the necessity to discern and identify narratives that lead us astray or might even cause resistance to the work of reconciliation:
“The invasion of stories involves the narratives we adopt as our own, where colonization was a ‘heroic struggle and the establishment of an exceptionally successful, just and distinct society’ rather than a violent conquest.”
The work of reconciliation is always preceded by the truth, otherwise we might not know what wrongs need to be righted or what was lost that needs to be regained. The act of sharing or speaking the truth involves two or more parties, like a relationship, because the truth cannot just be spoken, it must also be heard and acted upon.
The stories that we hear or choose to hear, and the voices we seek out, are important because they help construct our understanding of history and have the potential to cast vision for a better future.
And so, in anticipation of September 30, here are several stories that are rooted in the history and experience of Indigenous peoples in Canada. This short list of Indigenous films and series (in no particular order) might further your engagement with truth and reconciliation and Christ’s call to right-relationship with one another.
Little Bird (on Crave and APTN-Lumi, littlebirdseries.com)
An award-winning six-part limited series created by Jennifer Podemski and Hannah Moscovitch. Set during the Sixties Scoop (where increased provincial jurisdiction over Indigenous child welfare led to the large-scale removal of Indigenous children from their families), this series tells the story of Bezhig Little Bird, who was removed from her home on the Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan and adopted into a Jewish family in Montreal.
Reserve 107 (free at reserve107thefilm.com)
This short documentary captures the journey of Mennonites and Lutherans in the town of Laird, Sask. after discovering they live on a former reserve of the Young Chippewayan First Nation. A chief and descendant of the Young Chippewayan Band invites the community to meet together and as a result, surprising discoveries and friendship are made.
First Contact (on TVO and APTN-Lumi, firstcontactcanada.ca)
This short reality show takes six non-Indigenous Canadians and immerses them into Indigenous life and reality for the first time. Raw and real emotions and encounters are captured and documented as the lives of the participants are upended in unforgettable ways.
Indian Horse (on CBC Gem and Netflix, indianhorse.ca)
Based on the award-winning novel by Richard Wagamese, Indian Horse is a film that tells the story of Saul, a talented hockey player in the ‘70s who suffers the effects of a racist society and is haunted by memories of the residential school system.
Beans (available to rent, emafilms.com/en/film/beans)
From writer-director Tracey Deer, this film follows a young Mohawk girl nicknamed Beans. In 1990 Beans finds her family’s life radically altered when they’re caught in the middle of a 78-day standoff at Kanesatake (also known as the Oka crisis) between two Mohawk communities and the Canadian government.
