Why you should know the Indian Film Crew

CBC Podcasts | Posted: December 18, 2020 2:38 PM | Last Updated: December 18, 2020

All-Indigenous crew made groundbreaking documentaries

Image | You Are On Indian Land

Caption: A scene from 'You Are On Indian Land,' the classic 1969 NFB doc that puts the audience in the middle of conflict between First Nations and police. (NFB)

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What does it mean to be seen? In this episode Falen and Leah look into the history of the National Film Board and Indigenous filmmaking in Canada. For over 70 years the NFB had been filming and documenting Indigenous lives in its films, but in the late 60s a massive change happened at the cultural institution: the creation of the Indian Film Crew.

Today's episode — "You should know the Indian Film Crew" — explores how the Indian Film Crew opened doors with their groundbreaking works, and helped shifted minds and hearts.

Listen For

A brief history of the NFB: From Exhibits and Publicity Bureau to the The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau to the National Film Board
Some clips of early NFB films and their evolving representations of Indigenous people on screen
How government policy like the Indian Act played out in the world of film
Some ways in which artists like Jeremey Dutcher and Tanya Tagaq are reclaiming the archives
The story behind the first Canadian music video. (Spoiler: it isn't Shawn Mendez.)
Interviews with three members of the Indian Film Crew. (Spoiler: Falen fangirls.)
A reflection on the lasting impact of the Indian Film Crew, and why more people should know about this trailblazing team.

Key Resources

Indigenous Filmmaking at the NFB: An Overview. Backgrounder, 2015.
National Film Board of Canada by The Canadian Encyclopedia By Peter Morris and Wyndham Wise.
The Founding of the NFB. Blog post by Julie Matlin, 2009.
50 Years of Indigenous-Made Cinema in Canada: A Celebration. National Canadian Film Day article by Ariel Smith, 2019.
Film Exhibition at Indian Residential School in Canada, 1930–1969, Ph.D. thesis by Joel Hughes, Concordia University, 2016
The NFB Inuit Film collection by Marc St-Pierre, 2017
The story of how a new era of Indigenous filmmaking began in Canada. By Tina Hassannia, CBC Arts
Challenge for Change: Activist Documentary at the National Film Board of Canada. Book by Thomas Waugh, Michael Brendan Baker, Ezra Winton
The Indian Film Crews Of Challenge For Change: Representation And The State. Journal article by Michelle Stewart