Wanted: the Indigenous Star Wars

Jesse Wente wants to see an Indigenous Star Wars.

The Indigenous movie critic, CBC broadcaster and advocate for Aboriginal arts, says there are not enough big-scale First Nations movies. And filmmakers need more money, he says.

Otherwise, popular opinion is being shaped by movies that tell the story of First Nations people without their influence or voices.

"There is so much richness in Indigenous stories, there is so much love, revenge, action, adventure, monsters," Wente said. "All the things people love with movies can be found in Indigenous stories. We need to start telling those on a scale that is equal."

Representation in popular culture

Wente spoke at the University of New Brunswick this week on the representation of Indigenous people in popular culture.

We don't count in a culture that still considers us to be OK to be mascots.- Jesse Wente

In an earlier interview with Shift New Brunswick, he said that popular culture still presents Canadians with false images and ideas of First Nations people and their history.

Just recently, he had to discuss this issue with his children, when they watched the playoffs between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians.

The Cleveland team uses a cartoon caricature of a stereotypical American Indian face for its logo and mascot.  Explaining that to your children can quickly turn a friendly baseball night into a discussion on misrepresentation, dehumanization and residential schools, he said.

"Those mascots represent a moment when our disappearance, our distinction was a real possibility and, in fact, was being acted upon," he said. "To me, those logos, they honour genocide."

Wente added that his children, being Ojibwa, gravitate toward representations of First Nations people in popular culture. Mostly, because there are so few, he said.

Teach empathy through storytelling

He hopes that more big-budget Indigenous movies can change that by teaching people empathy and understanding, and helping to correct a long history of discrimination and misrepresentation.

This is especially important today, as more people learn about colonialism and the residential school system in Canada, he said.

"Policy is still being shaped because of the representation of us in popular culture," he said. "The only way to balance that out is to actually have Indigenous voices not just telling our stories but in control of those stories. 

"We don't count in a culture that still considers us to be OK to be mascots."