First Nations Movies

  • 2004
    Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

    Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

    Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii

    72004HD

    Filmmaker Kevin McMahon accompanies the Haida delegation on a repatriation trip to Chicago in 2003. His film reveals the whole repatriation process...

    Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii
  • 2007
    Totem: Return and Renewal

    Totem: Return and Renewal

    Totem: Return and Renewal

    82007HD

    In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the...

    Totem: Return and Renewal
  • 1969
    You Are on Indian Land

    You Are on Indian Land

    You Are on Indian Land

    91969HD

    The territory of Akwesasne straddles the Canada-U.S. border. When Canadian authorities prohibited the duty-free cross-border passage of personal...

    You Are on Indian Land
  • 2015
    Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance

    Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance

    Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance

    82015HD

    The conflict over forestry operations on Lyell Island in 1985 was a major milestone in the history of the re-emergence of the Haida Nation. It was a...

    Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance
  • 2000
    The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters

    The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters

    The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters

    02000HD

    For almost a century, the Coast Salish knitters of southern Vancouver Island have produced Cowichan sweaters from handspun wool. These distinctive...

    The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters
  • 2018
    Indian Rights for Indian Women

    Indian Rights for Indian Women

    Indian Rights for Indian Women

    02018HD

    Three intrepid women battle for Indigenous women's treaty rights.

    Indian Rights for Indian Women
  • 1990
    The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son

    The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son

    The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son

    01990HD

    The Inuit folktale of an old woman and the orphaned polar bear cub she took in as her own child.

    The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son
  • 2021
    Desert Metal Dreaming

    Desert Metal Dreaming

    Desert Metal Dreaming

    02021HD

    The most isolated metal band in the world, Southeast Desert Metal, and their Aunty Kathleen, share ancient Arrernte culture with the world through...

    Desert Metal Dreaming
  • 2020
    Highway of Tears

    Highway of Tears

    Highway of Tears

    02020HD

    Discover the endless highway in British Columbia where over 40 indigenous women and girls (by unofficial estimates) have disappeared since the 1970s.

    Highway of Tears
  • 1981
    Māori

    Māori

    Māori

    01981HD

    This 1981 NFU film is a tour of the contemporary world of Aotearoa’s tangata whenua. It won headlines over claims that its portrayal of...

    Māori
  • 1980
    Takeover

    Takeover

    Takeover

    01980HD

    About Aborigines and Australian politics. On 13 March 1978 the Queensland Government announced its intention to take over management of the Aurukun...

    Takeover
  • 1970
    Healing the nation

    Healing the nation

    Healing the nation

    01970HD

    Healing the Nation follows community members of the Toronto-based Aboriginal Healing Program as they rediscover their culture to heal from unresolved...

    Healing the nation
  • 2022
    The Pretendians

    The Pretendians

    The Pretendians

    82022HD

    Anishinaabe author Drew Hayden Taylor investigates how — and why — Indigenous identity, culture and art are being appropriated by those...

    The Pretendians
  • 1975
    The Land is the Culture: A Case for BC Indian Land Claims

    The Land is the Culture: A Case for BC Indian Land Claims

    The Land is the Culture: A Case for BC Indian Land Claims

    81975HD

    "A documentary film which looks at the issue of British Columbia Native land claims and how the aboriginals link their culture to the land, which has...

    The Land is the Culture: A Case for BC Indian Land Claims
  • 1986
    Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child

    Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child

    Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child

    81986HD

    This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the...

    Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child
  • 1979
    Bill Reid

    Bill Reid

    Bill Reid

    71979HD

    Follows Haida artist Bill Reid, from British Columbia. A jeweller and wood carver, he works on a traditional Haida totem pole. We watch the gradual...

    Bill Reid
  • 1967
    Indian Memento

    Indian Memento

    Indian Memento

    101967HD

    A visit to the "Indians of Canada" pavilion at Expo 67, Montréal. Inside there are Indigenous artifacts, but even more arresting are the...

    Indian Memento
  • 2009
    How People Got Fire

    How People Got Fire

    How People Got Fire

    72009HD

    This introspective short animation takes place In the village of Carcross, in the Tagish First Nation. Neighbourhood pillar Grandma Kay tell the...

    How People Got Fire
  • 2006
    One Dead Indian

    One Dead Indian

    One Dead Indian

    02006HD

    Stoney Point Natives assemble at Ipperwash Provincial Park for what began as a peaceful protest.

    One Dead Indian
  • 2022
    The Lake of Scars

    The Lake of Scars

    The Lake of Scars

    5.32022HD

    In a corner of regional Victoria exists a place of astounding natural beauty, archaeological significance and age-old culture. But the Indigenous...

    The Lake of Scars