Tzinquaw Opera
Through the traditional story, music, and dance of today’s Tzinquaw Dance Group, we investigate the breaking of bounds of the Indian Act’s cultural oppression through the Tzinquaw Opera’s widespread acclaim in the 1940s-50’s, leading to the present-day revitalization of Cowichan culture. Framed through the preparations, rehearsals, performance, and reaction to a performance of today’s Cowichan Tzinquaw Dancers, this documentary recounts and investigates the tragedy of the banning of the stl’unuq (Coast Salish spirit dance, or potlatch) and traditional Quw’utsun...
Read MoreSweet Summer Pow Wow
Post-Production A young Indigenous couple get a break from their troubled lives when they find each other through asummer of love on the Pow-Wow circuit. The summer Pow-wow circuit in British Columbia is spread out throughout the province, held in adifferent location every weekend. Thousands of singers, dancers, drummers, and vendors congregateevery weekend to celebrate their culture, visit with relations, meet new friends, and especially, to fall inlove. Or as it is known in Indian country- “snagging”. JINNY, 17, lives on the Shuswap Reserve. Her diabetic mother Cara is the Chief and...
Read MoreThe Great Salish Heist
When First Nations objects are removed from their burial sites, bad things happen. No one knows this better than Steve Joe (Darrell Dennis), traditional archeologist for the Moquahat people. He used to be revered within his community, but his life rapidly went downhill after his son died in a car accident and his wife Tanya (Ashley Callingbull) left him. He believes that his misfortune, and the bad luck of his community, is a result of the displacement of sacred artifacts. The only way to stop the suffering is to return the sacred objects to the people they were taken from. But there’s a...
Read MoreA Cedar Is Life
A Cedar Is Life explores how one critical species, the cedar tree, is central to the cultural life of West Coast First Nations. The film weaves together interviews with elders, artists, and other hands-on practitioners who speak to how all parts of the tree were – and still are – important to make use of, while also highlighting the importance of protecting this ancient ancestor throughout the film. We look at how cedar is bridging cultural gaps today, and how this passing down of knowledge to the next generation is essential for promoting strength of culture in so...
Read MoreTzouhalem
Tzouhalem, Chief of the Cowichan First Nation during the mid-1800’s, is arguably one of the most fascinating and polarizing figures in Canadian history. His story is a matter of historic record yet is the subject of legend. There is a mountain, road, and other landmarks on Cowichan territory named after him. It is generally believed that Tzouhalem, a deformed Indigenous boy, through his strength of character and mystical powers, taught to him by his Grandmother, subdued his rivals, and transformed himself into the most powerful First Nations leader in the Pacific Northwest, before succumbing...
Read MoreDust n’ Bones
Dust n’ Bones brings to light the legal, political, historical and spiritual challenges faced by First Nations leaders and archaeologists as they fight to give disinterred ancestors their proper reverence. Framed around the pending transfer from the Royal BC Museum back to their indigenous community, Dust n’ Bones takes us through the discovery, preservation and rededication of human remains and artifacts, and with them, a reclamation of First Nations culture and history. The main thread of Dust n’ Bones is the day-to-day (and overnight) work of Harold Joe, a...
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