Alanis Obomsawin @ Free First Saturday | Walker Art Center

“My main interest all my life has been education because that’s where you develop yourself, where you learn to hate or to love.” —Alanis Obomsawin

Film Screening with Alanis Obomsawin in Person

In honor of Abenaki filmmaker and artist Obomsawin’s lifelong dedication to education, see a special selection of her short films that uplift Indigenous children. Obomsawin will introduce the screening in the Walker Cinema at 1 pm.

Obomsawin’s early documentaries create a remarkable visual archive of Indigenous communities. Mount Currie Summer Camp (1975) was made with a Stl’atl’imx (Líl̓wat) community, seen through the beautiful faces of children going about their daily routines. Partridge (1972) shares family memories and a story of how the spirit of the partridge protects children in the Atikamekw community of Manawan. A 1977 filmed performance features Obomsawin onstage singing a traditional lullaby, Nbaw (Hush, Sleep).

In Sigwan (2005), a drama made for young audiences, a young girl learns about acceptance from forest animals.

The shorts program concludes with Walking is Medicine (2017), the story of six young Cree men who decided to walk from Whapmagoostui, Quebec, to Ottawa. Their journey is made in the spirit of their ancestors, whose traditions were to travel long distances in the winter, crossing frozen rivers and lakes, meeting many different nations from across the country. Known as the Nishiyuu walkers, they made their journey to bring attention to Indigenous youth and to be part of a new beginning.

Total running time for the program (with intro): approximately 35 min. Click here for more information about Free First Saturday: Generations.

Thank you to the National Film Board of Canada.