Alanis Obomsawin Movies

First Nations documentary

Often feeling alone in her waking life, the young Alanis Obomsawin found friendship with the Green Horse, a benevolent being she visited regularly in...

A young Native girl, rejected by her classmates, is comforted and counselled by the animals of the forest.

This short documentary is a moving tribute to Richard Cardinal, a Métis adolescent who committed suicide in 1984. Taken from his home at the...

Having dedicated nearly four decades to chronicling the lives of Canada's First Nations, Alanis Obomsawin returns to the village where she was raised...

The farming practices of residents of the Líl̓wat Nation near Mount Currie, B.C., are presented in a series of snapshots that illustrate...

Nestled at the heart of Canada’s national capital, the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health has been a haven for generations of Indigenous...

A series of still images follows master Líl̓wat basket maker Mathilda Jim, from the harvesting of materials to the creation of a...

Walker is a young Aboriginal foster child whose only playmate is his dog. Jamie is a lonely young white boy who is afraid of dogs, and has some...

In this feature-length documentary, Indigenous filmmaker and artist Alanis Obomsawin chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj...

Alanis Obomsawin talks about how she got her start at the NFB and the overarching importance of sound/story in her work.

This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin takes us to Poundmaker's Lodge, a treatment centre in St. Albert, Alberta, that welcomes Native people...

Obomsawin narrates as children learn of the traditions and life of Gabriel, a Cree boy from Fort George, James Bay. The Northern Cree "Walking Out...

Wild rice is an important source of food and revenue for many Anishinaabe people, who sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres to harvest the grain in...

A portrait of Eugene "Gene Boy" Benedict from Odanak Indian Reserve near Montreal, Quebec. At 17, adrift and beginning to lose his way, he accepted a...

The village of Old Crow and the people from the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation are located on the banks of the Porcupine River 80 miles inside the...

Accompanied by a song in the Lil̓wat7úl language, we follow a woman as she makes gwùshum, a Líl̓wat dessert and a very...

Elders Mariane and Athanas Jacob – of the Atikamekw community of Manawan – demonstrate a moose-call horn constructed from bark. The...

Filmed in front of a captivated audience during a visit to Attawapiskat (Kattawapiskat), Fleury shares his arresting story of surviving abuse and...