Citations

We Were Children. Narr. Lyna Hart and Glen Anaquod. 2013. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Reel Injun. Writ. Catherine Bainbridge, Neil Diamond, and Jeremiah Hayes. 2010. 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii. Dir. Kevin McMahon. Writ. Kevin McMahon. 2004. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

The People of the Kattawapiskak River. Dir. Alanis Obomsawin. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

National Museum of Natural History. Repatriation Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://anthropology.si.edu/repatriation/whatis/>.

Skidegate Repatriation & Cultural Committee. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://www.repatriation.ca/index.html>.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. N.p., 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015644/1100100015649>.

Hanson, Erin. The Residential School System. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-residential-school-system.html>.

Research - Repatriation - Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

Repatriation is when you bring a person back to where they’re from. The term can be used when people bring soldiers back from a war, or when refugees go back home after a war, but in the case of this documentary, the term repatriation refers to the ancestors of the Haida people and bringing them home from various museums around the world.

In the documentary “Stolen spirits of Haida Gwaii” the first nation’s people are repatriating their ancestors from a museum in Chicago. During the documentary, I started to think about the idea of repatriation and how often it’s done. I also thought about how many other First Nation communities repatriate the remains of their ancestors.

I found some information concerning my questions about the topic of repatriation and the Haida Gwaii people.

In the United States, the Smithsonian Institution has a whole office that deals with the repatriation of ancestral remains. It was created in 1991 so that Native American people could bring their ancestors home where they belong. Most of the Aboriginal Remains are in two of the museums in the Smithsonian Institute; the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Also, concerning the Haida people, they have visited many museums to bring home their ancestors. Some include the Royal British Columbia Museum, the British Museum, the Field Museum, the two Smithsonian museums I mentioned earlier and many more.

The Haida People have repatriated the remains of over 400 of their ancestors. They've been working on this project for over 10 years and when all the ancestors are in their rightful home, the Haida people will start to repatriate their ancestor’s treasured artifacts.

From doing this research about repatriation, I now have a better understanding of it and why it’s so important.

Research - Residential Schools - We Were Children

After watching We Were Children, my interest was piqued. I started to think about residential schools and what the Aboriginal children had to face each and every day.

            In the late 1800’s, the Canadian Government started to make residential schools. These schools were for children from Aboriginal families. The children were forced to leave their families behind and go to school to learn a whole new culture – Christianity. There was no choice for the First Nations families. In the 1920’s, the Indian Act stated that if Aboriginal families didn't sent their kids to school, they would be jailed.

            At the schools, the children were stripped of their identities. They couldn't speak their own language, only English or French and not were not even allowed to use their own names. They were only numbers. They wore similar uniforms and had their hair cut a certain way. The schools were run by priests and nuns who often didn't care at all of the well-being of their students.

            When the kids disobeyed the adults they were punished. Most punishments were given when a student failed to speak in either English or French. Getting rapped with a ruler, being forced to hold their tongue, or getting their tongues poked with needles were usual punishments. The children were often abused both physically, emotionally, and sexually and the Government didn't care about the abuse that these children were going through because they were considered to be “Savages”.

            The living conditions in these schools were also often unsatisfactory. The children were often in small rooms packed with beds and fed food that they were not used to which occasionally made them sick.

            After over a century, the last residential school was shut down in 1986. After that, the Government still didn't apologize until 2008 when P.M Stephen Harper made an official apology to the people who were affected by the tragedy that were residential schools.

Reflection - The People of The Kattawapiskak River

         This film really got me thinking, there’s an entire culture in Canada that has close to third world living conditions. After watching “The People of the Kattawapiskak River” I felt like the Canadian government doesn’t care about all Canadians, primarily the Aboriginal community. They are forced to live in small, run down houses that have no running water or access to heating even when the weather gets up to -40°C in the winter time.

          The documentary did a great job of capturing the real lives of the people living in this poor town. The filmmaker used lots of raw footage that accurately showed the undesirable living conditions that the people residing in Kattawapiskak have to endure daily. It made me feel both sorry for the citizens of the town and slightly irritated at the fact that the Canadian Government has always cheated the Aboriginal community.

          During the film when the residents were showing the camera crew their homes and families, the filmmaker used some interviews with residents to try and get a clearer picture of the situation they’re in. By using these interviews, it became easier to understand the harsh conditions that the people living in Kattawapiskak have suffered through their whole lives.

          My final thought after watching this film: The government should give these poor reserves the funding they need to have basic necessities e.g. water heat etc.

Reflection - Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

After watching this documentary, I felt like I could empathize with the Haida people. They had something taken from them and are now going on this journey to repatriate or bring back their ancestors that were taken and locked up in museums.

            The Haida people were very driven when they were going to the museum. When they arrived at the museum, they got to work immediately. When they were getting the ancestral remains from the museum’s storage area, the people started to get emotional and felt like their ancestors were part of them.

            What I liked about this documentary was the interesting shots that were in the film. While the Haida people were going to the museum, it showed all around the city; the sights, the roads, it felt like you were sightseeing. Also when it was time to get the ancestral remains, the camera was showing the view outside once again, and also some of the display cases in the museum like the butterflies that represented free spirits.

            The documentary also made good use of voice overs. When the Haida people were in the room repatriating their ancestors, they were voicing over what they’re experiences were with their ancestors. 

Reflection - Reel Injun

           When I was watching the film Reel Injun, I started to realize that Aboriginal People have to deal with many stereotypes that are usually not true. The media – exclusively the entertainment industry – is making numerous films, TV shows etc. which feature First Nations Peoples. The only problem is that most of the Aboriginal People that are portrayed in these films or shows are inaccurately portrayed. In the documentary, the “Indians” were mostly played by white actors that were caked with makeup and were dressed in feathers, headbands, and other “tribal” clothing that First Nations people don’t actually wear all the time if at all.

            From Reel Injun, I learned the truth behind these stereotypes and also how Aboriginal People really look like. I also liked how the filmmaker used clips from movies featuring Native Americans to enhance the film and also inform people how the film industry depict Aboriginal culture. What I believe also increased the quality of the documentary was the use of raw footage. The scene in the film where Sacheen Littlefeather accepted an Oscar for Marlon Brando at the 45^th Academy Awards in 1973 was a scene that showed First Nations people in a good light.

             To wrap things up, Reel Injun was a very well made film and I learned a number of things from it.

Reflection - We Were Children

In the documentary We Were Children, I learned about residential schools and how hard they were on the kids who attended them. The film had many interesting sequences, and some great film techniques. The documentary made me think about what was going through the minds of the Canadian government and how this decision to isolate and practically brainwash young Aboriginal children went on for such a long period of time.

Prior to watching this documentary, I hadn't really thought about residential schools and the hardships that the First Nation’s children went through on a daily basis. I learned about this topic through the interviews and re-enacted stories of Lyna and Glen, two Native adults who personally went through the torturous events of residential schools while they were young children.

The documentary hay many different film techniques that enhanced the viewer’s experience while watching this film. I noticed how the angles of the camera changed to represent the situation. For example, the camera was filming at a lower angle when to capture Lyna’s perspective while she was entering the school. The film also used music and sound to its advantage. An example of that would be when glen and his cousin were running away, the music was upbeat unlike the music while they were in the school.

            Upon watching this film, it gave me a new perspective about First Nations people and the Canadian government.