Over the past ten years, IC Magazine has encountered hundreds of outstanding videos by, for and about Indigenous Peoples: Videos that would challenge us in the most unexpected ways; inform us about issues that were completely unknown to the world; and even yank us out of our chairs, invigorating us, empowering us, inspiring us, and once in a while, helping us to de-program/decolonize ourselves so that we might live more rich and fulfilling lives as distinct peoples .
In our weekly search for film, we didn’t find as much to look at as we did in 2013, nevertheless, we still came face to face with a lot of great film over the past 12 months. As 2014 comes to a close, we’d like to share a small selection of those videos with you, in no particular order…
Indigenous peoples across the globe have experienced a violent and devastating history at the hands of colonialism, and Australia is no exception. But is colonization something of a bygone era? In consideration of all that has happened, what does decolonization look like and is it a tangible process? How does it relate to the individual, our everyday lives, the future of all Aboriginal people, and as distinct tribal groups?
Think bannock is a traditional food? Think again. In this video, Dr. Evan Adams from the Sliammon First Nation explores the history of bannock and its pre-colonial equivalent–made with Corn, Camas root and other cultivated foods.
Open pit Oil Sands mines surround the Dene, Cree, and Métis community of Fort McKay on three sides, with the closest less than four kilometres away. Recent aggressive industrial development within their traditional territory has placed unique significance on the historical settlement at their reserve at Moose Lake, 80 kilometres from Fort McKay. Moose Lake has become what most community members consider their “last refuge”.
A First Nations woman, Kanahus, defies the laws that oppress and colonize her people by not registering her four children with the Canadian government, living off the land and raising her children in a traditional earth pit house. She’s been imprisoned and beaten, the police have broken into and ransacked her home without a search warrant, but she is as determined as the day she began this journey thirteen years ago. She educates her children decolonized as Freedom Babies.
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