Alanis Obomsawin: The Real Deal

L to R, The Champ, Alanis Obomsawin, Storm Standing-On-The-Road

Serendipity is a wondrous thing and it brought Storm and me to the chance to spend time with 2 Aboriginal women filmmakers of immense talent this evening. This week W2 is hosting the 2^nd annual Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival…I actually called in sick this morning with a stupendous head cold but when I discovered through social media that Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin would attend screening of her latest NFB documentary, The People of the Kattawapiskak River, I knew I would be there. But the added bonus was that the double feature included Ojibway director Darlene Naponse’s feature Every Emotion Costs. Darlene, it just so happens, is related to Storm (through her mama, again) and she and I were fellow artsy, writerly-type students at Okanagan artist Jeanette Armstrong’s beloved En’owkin Center at Penticton for 2 years and we are old pals you might say.

Plenty of times on this blog I’ve given high praise to the creative types or various others but I can’t think of anyone more deserving of accolades than Obomsawin. I’ve always felt this way about her ever since I first viewed her ’93 doc Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance which chronicles the 1990 Oka Crisis. Oka was of course a defining moment in history for Indians like me – Oka changed everything. And I am not the only one. The elegant and gracious director is now 80 years old (amazing) and I hounded Storm all day to commit to coming with me to the screening. The film was, as usual, powerful and heartfelt and I recommend any of her 30 films all based on subjects having to do with Native People and the majority of which have been produced by the National Film Board. This woman holds several honorary doctorates; a Governor General’s Award and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. She is supremely dedicated and so clearly loves our people that I never miss a chance to hear her speak. She is the real deal.

L to R, The Champ, Storm, (film maker) Suzi Bekkattla, (Director) Darlene Naponse

Naponse’s film is an emotionally charged piece on grief, healing and the complexity of relationships. Her film is lush and visually crafted on a script she wrote and produced (all while holding down a band-council position) at Whitefish Lake 1^st Nation, Ontario where it was shot (it was a trip whispering to Storm during the film: hey, that’s your relative on the left of the screen). Back in the day, Darlene was always shooting and writing, shooting and writing and you just knew she possessed the determination to go wherever it was she intended. I am so proud of and for her.

Ironic and lucky for me that I should wake this morning discouraged that my previously oncoming sniffles had become a full-on ragin’ sneeze orgy, only to be now hitting the sack fed and fortified by the healing power of art…and great company.

© 2012 Champsteen Publishing.

...everybuddy's got one...

I live next door the world’s latest empire.
America is history’s most recent example of an empire.
This is no exaggeration, I really believe it. The paradigm may be different but the result is the same. The United States is a fitting example of one nation oppressing all others (as well as its own people)in the pursuit of obscene and senseless self-interest and in turn benefiting an elite few (and their friends) at the reigns of power.
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You history and war buffs (and the like) that get turned on by learning about previous civilizations such as the British and French Empires, The Chinese, the Huns, the Romans, the Greeks, the Egyptians and….sorry folks, but the Incas and the Aztecs all must know that these storied empires were built on the backs of the oppressed and powerless, the poor, the lowly of birth. Some things never change…at least haven’t yet.
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The only difference between Americans and Canadians is that the latter find it “distasteful” to be thought of as Americans.
Let’s get real!
Their history is the same, their language is the same, their religion is the same, their culture is the same but more telling and more relevant is the fact that their “values” are the same. They love to run around the rest of the planet “helping out” whenever there is catastrophe in some faraway “other” when the people whose lands they now inhabit (and in which they have become quite wealthy, comfortable and happy) experience a hardship…no wait, what I mean to say and what is more accurate, is…indigenous people (the world over) experience mortality, that is DEATH, at a much higher rate than others and endure a quality of life far, far below those who have immigrated there and now call these places home
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Treaties and Promises - Ancient history? So is the Bible, so is the Constitution, let’s scrap all these things then and start from scratch with equal power sharing. I am wary at this prospect however because I feel certain more than few Canadians still relish the idea of “taking care” of Natives once and for all and then starting “for real” free of the Indian problem.
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As far as I know (which immediately makes all this relative/reductionist) the historical clash between races has been around as long as man…(sorry)…persons has er, have. Man, I go an event here in Vancouver, and sometimes I STILL get the stink eye when I say that I’m Cree…and this from other skins.

How long has the balance been skewed in gender power dynamics? That is, historically speaking, how long have men been oppressing women? Where - when and how has it changed?

I think about these things critically - healthy skepticism is a good thing because it helps me “get real,” that is, it helps me formulate useful approaches, its helps me decide what is a reasonable activity for me to be involved in, in terms of changing a circumstance – on what scale is the situation taking place, what is a reasonable expectation or outcome – what is a constructive approach (I tried all the other kinds, lol)…this helps me stay balanced, so that I don’t get depressed when I can’t change the world each and every single day…there is always SOMETHING progressive that can take place…always
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orientation or information training should be MANDATORY for ANYONE without previous experience who wants to become involved with non-profit organizations. This means: volunteers, employees and board members. Many, many people who come to these places do not have the first clue about how they are structured, run, and what they are obligated to do not only for the client/community but for the funder. It is public money, not FREE money – as such, you must meet certain requirements as agreed upon between the organization and the funder (usually the Government, either directly or indirectly), and as a non-profit organization, you are bound by regulations contained in the Society Act. I have seen many, many people join an non-profit org with guns-a-blazin,’ rootin’- rootin, shit-kickin’ in mind and they get so hurt, disillusioned and discouraged because they end up jaded and feeling powerless because it said on the “pamphlet” this that and the other thing was gonna happen and they think: right on! – this ain’t some corporate monolith rippin' the people off, we’re gonna take it all back!!!...