Portrayals in Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Wandering Spirit Survival School | National Film Board | This school, organized by concerned parents, broke with tradition by introducing subjects that are of particular relevance to its pupils. The experience of the children is contrasted with the very different life experienced by their parents, educated in the old residential schools. |
| 1985 | The Mission School Syndrome | Northern Native Broadcasting | A documentary feature that investigates the effect of residential schools in the Yukon, focusing on former residents of the Lower Post Residential School, the Baptist Indian Mission School (Whitehorse), and the Chaoutla Indian Residential School (Carcross), as well as the Yukon Hall Residence in Whitehorse. |
| 1989 | Where the Spirit Lives | Bruce Pittman | A CBC dramatic portrayal of a young Aboriginal girl, Ashtoh-Komi, who is abducted and taken to a residential school in the 1930s. |
| 1991 | Violation of Trust | Fifth Estate | A compelling documentary about Canada's worst-kept secret, examining the lives of residential school survivors, along with stories of abuse. |
| 1992 | Sleeping Children Awake | Rhonda Kara Hanah | Inspired by Shirley Cheechoo's play Path with no Moccasins, Sleeping Children Awake is both a personal record of Canada's history, and a tribute to the enduring strength of Native cultures. |
| 1993 | Beyond the Shadows | Gryphon Productions Ltd. | A powerful documentary about the legacy of Native residential schools (missionary schools). The video touches on the historical background of these schools, but primarily depicts painful personal experiences; the causes of multi-generational grief and healing processes underway in communities today. |
| 1998 | Kuper Island: Return to the Healing Circle | National Film Board | Like thousands of other Aboriginal people across Canada and the United States, the former residents of Kuper Island are now beginning to break the silence and to speak out about the trauma of their residential school experience. For them, the time for healing has come. |
| 2001 | Childhood Lost | Doug Cuthand | Through interviews, archival photos, and re-enactments, this program illuminates the experiences of four individuals who were sent to residential schools when they were very young. |
| 2005 | A Day at Indian Residential Schools in Canada | Indigenous Education Coalition | This 26 minute documentary, hosted by youth, explores the life at three Indian residential schools. Survivors recollect their daily routines, time spent on chores, and their feelings of isolation. This film features archival images of life at the schools as well as interviews with survivors who had never before spoken on camera about their experiences. |
| 2007 | The Fallen Feather: Indian Industrial Residential Schools Canadian Confederation | Randy N Bezeau | The fallen feather provides an in-depth critical analysis of the driving forces behind the creation of Canadian Indian residential schools. |
| 2007 | Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide | Kevin Annett | A documentary describing the crimes committed in church-run residential schools. |
| 2008 | Muffins for Granny | Mongrel Media | Nadia McLaren tells the story of her own grandmother by combining precious home movie fragments with the stories of seven elders dramatically affected by their experiences in residential school. |
| 2008 | Our Spirits Don't Speak English | Chip Richie | In 1869, the U.S. government enacted a policy of educating Native American children in the ways of western society. By the late 1960s, more than 100,000 had been forced to attend Indian Boarding School. |
| 2008 | Stolen Children | CBC Learning | In this package of documentaries from The National, CBC explores the impact of residential schools on former students and the larger community, presenting ideas for what more can be done to address this painful chapter in Canada's history. |
| 2009 | The Experimental Eskimos | Barry Greenwald | In the early 1960s the Canadian government conducted an experiment in social engineering. Three young Inuit boys were separated from their families in the Arctic and were sent to Ottawa, the nation's capital, to live with white families and to be educated in white schools. |
| 2009 | Kakalakkuvik (Where the Children Dwell) | Jodie Weetaluktuk | Kakalakkuvik recounts the vivid memories of former students from Port Harrison (now Inukjuak, Quebec), the first group of Inuit to sue the federal government for compensation. |
| 2009 | Shi-Shi-Etko | Kate Kroll | Shi-Shi-Etko will soon be taken away from her home to begin her formal western education at a residential school. Her mother, father and grandmother want her to remember her roots and they wait for her return in the spring to continue passing down those ideals to her. |
| 2012 | We Were Children | Tim Wolochatiuk | Documentary film about the experiences of survivors Lyna Hart (Guy Hill Residential School) and Glen Anaquod (Lebret Indian Residential School). |
Read more about this topic: Canadian Indian Residential School System
Famous quotes containing the words portrayals and/or film:
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“The motion picture is like a picture of a lady in a half- piece bathing suit. If she wore a few more clothes, you might be intrigued. If she wore no clothes at all, you might be shocked. But the way it is, you are occupied with noticing that her knees are too bony and that her toenails are too large. The modern film tries too hard to be real. Its techniques of illusion are so perfect that it requires no contribution from the audience but a mouthful of popcorn.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)