Documentary
A cinematic wonder & incredible opportunity to learn about Indigenous ways of knowing. A group of puppeteers are transformed by their experience of "being buffalo" at night under the stars. Amethyst First Rider tells the puppeteers, "You are the buffalo. With each movement of your hands, each connection, you're creating energy & they become a part of you." In 2017 history was made when bison were reintroduced to Banff National Park where they continue to roam free today. The project was part of the historic Buffalo Treaty, with over 40 First Nation signatories, who are part of the movement to bring buffalo back to their ancestral lands. Leroy Little Bear & Amethyst First Rider lead this movement, & since Amethyst is first & foremost an artist, she wanted to celebrate the return of the buffalo through art. She met master puppeteer, Pete Balkwill, who was working with sculptural lantern puppets with his collaborators that lent themselves to night time performances on the land
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Lakota Nation vs. United States
Yakutia — Between The Worlds
Tantoo Cardinal
Surviving Columbus
The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters
One Heart: One Spirit
The Gold Panner from Lannavaara
Warriors on the Field
Forests
Q'eros: The Shape of Survival
Haida Carver
Foster Child
The Spirit of the Tsilqot'in People is Hovering over the Supreme Court
Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier
When the Mountains Tremble
Cry Rock
Augusta
Ceux comme la terre
Xetá
The Road Forward
SIMILAR MOVIES
Lakota Nation vs. United States
IMDB 6.2 | Jun , 2022
Poet Layli Long Soldier crafts a searing portrait of her Oyate’s connection to the Black Hills, through first contact and broken treaties to the promise of the Land Back movement, in this lyrical testament to resilience of a nation.Yakutia — Between The Worlds
IMDB 10 | Sep , 2024
A documentary road movie. Traveling across his homeland, the filmmaker explores what Yakut cinema is, and what it means to the Sakha people and to himself.Tantoo Cardinal
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2021
A moving portrait of actress Tantoo Cardinal, travelling through time and across the many roles she’s played, capturing her strength and her impact—and how she shattered the glass ceiling and survived.Surviving Columbus
IMDB 0 | Nov , 1992
This Peabody Award-winning documentary from New Mexico PBS looks at the European arrival in the Americas from the perspective of the Pueblo Peoples.The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2000
For almost a century, the Coast Salish knitters of southern Vancouver Island have produced Cowichan sweaters from handspun wool. These distinctive sweaters are known and loved around the world, but the Indigenous women who make them remain largely invisible.One Heart: One Spirit
IMDB 0 | Jul , 2017
An Aboriginal Australian and Native American documentary narrated by award-winning actor Jack Thompson, One Heart-One Spirit tells the story of Kenneth Little Hawk, an elder Micmac/Mohawk performing artist, meeting the oldest surviving culture on the planet: the 40,000 year old Yolngu nation located in northern Australia.The Gold Panner from Lannavaara
IMDB 8.2 | Nov , 2025
A film about the gold panning adventures of Hans Söderström, an indigenous Swede. The story stretches from Scandinavia to Africa, via Asia and the Americas, but ultimately boils down to the simple boyish dream of finding gold. Lots of it. And oneself.Warriors on the Field
IMDB 10 | Jul , 2022
Through the lens of sport, AFL legend Michael O'Loughlin shines a light on the history and experience of the Indigenous Australian people. Current AFL players, Michael Walters and Tarryn Thomas, join O'Loughlin to unpack racism, discrimination and the unbreakable bond they each share with their indigenous communities.Forests
IMDB 9 | May , 2022
In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.Q'eros: The Shape of Survival
IMDB 2 | Mar , 1979
Exploration of the way of life of the Q’eros Indians of Peru, who have lived in the Andes for more than 3,000 years.Haida Carver
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1964
On Canada's Pacific coast this film finds a young Haida artist, Robert Davidson, shaping miniature totems from argillite, a jet-like stone. The film follows the artist to the island where he finds the stone, and then shows how he carves it in the manner of his grandfather, who taught him the craft.Foster Child
IMDB 3 | Mar , 1987
Gil Cardinal searches for his natural family and an understanding of the circumstances that led to his becoming a foster child. An important figure in the history of Canadian Indigenous filmmaking, Gil Cardinal was born to a Métis mother but raised by a non-Indigenous foster family, and with this auto-biographical documentary he charts his efforts to find his biological mother and to understand why he was removed from her. Considered a milestone in documentary cinema, it addressed the country’s internal colonialism in a profoundly personal manner, winning a Special Jury Prize at Banff and multiple international awards.The Spirit of the Tsilqot'in People is Hovering over the Supreme Court
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2023
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is represented by six communities in the stunningly beautiful interior of British Columbia. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the Tŝilhqot’in People have cared for this territory for millennia. With increasing external pressures from natural-resource extraction companies, the communities mobilized in the early 21st century to assert their rightful title to their lands. Following a decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2007 that only partially acknowledged their claim, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation’s plight was heard in the Supreme Court of Canada. In a historic decision in 2014, the country’s highest court ruled what the Tŝilhqot’in have long asserted: that they alone have full title to their homelands.Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier
IMDB 0 | Nov , 1991
An intimate exploration of the circumstances surrounding the incarceration of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, convicted of murder in 1977, with commentary from those involved, including Peltier himself.When the Mountains Tremble
IMDB 9.5 | Sep , 1983
A documentary on the war between the Guatemalan military and the Mayan population, with first hand accounts by Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.Cry Rock
IMDB 0 | Oct , 2010
In the Bella Coola Valley, a haunting legend endures through generations as a filmmaker reckons with whether the stories of her ancestors can survive being held or if they were never meant to be captured.Augusta
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1976
This short documentary is the portrait of an 88-year-old woman who lives alone in a log cabin without running water or electricity in the Williams Lake area of British Columbia. The daughter of a Shuswap chief, Augusta lost her Indian status as the result of a marriage to a white man. She recalls past times, but lives very much in the present. Self-sufficient, dedicated to her people, she spreads warmth wherever she moves, with her songs and her harmonica.Ceux comme la terre
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2015
Portrait of the Dene, natives of the Northwest Territories whose way of life has been documented by an Oblate father who has lived with them for more than seventy years.Xetá
IMDB 0 | Mar , 2010
The Road Forward
IMDB 9 | Apr , 2017
The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.