Indigenous Cinema in the Classroom Ages 15–18
These films for high-school learners include stories from directors Christine Welsh, Alanis Obomsawin, Dennis Allen, Tasha Hubbard, Sara Roque, and Bobby Kenuajuak, as well as the series Second Stories from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and others from across Canada.
Indigenous Cinema in the Classroom is an extension of our Wide Awake Tour for the public. It offers teachers, students and parents the opportunity to watch films selected from our collection of more than 250 Indigenous-made works. We’ve created playlists for these titles, grouping them by student age recommendation and professional development themes for teachers.
These are stories about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the Highway of Tears, Indigenous rights activism, violence against Indigenous Women, Indigenous stereotypes, racism, marginalized communities, community healing, the Oka Crisis, the Kahnawake tribe, Cree burial traditions, Indigenous pride, reconciliation, healing and recovery, residential schools, Two-Spirited people, salmon fishing rights, the Mi’kmaq people, historical perspective on contemporary Indigenous issues, village life in Puvirnituq, preserving cultures and traditions, suicide, addiction, substance abuse, co-existence of traditions and modernity, police violence, Saskatoon’s infamous “freezing deaths,” Indigenous women leadership, the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve blockade, legal, land and human-rights issues, historical and contemporary understanding of relationships between Indigenous people and the Canadian government, the role of radio in a small community of Teetl’it Gwich’in, the Oka crisis and the now-infamous stand-off between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian Army.
Curriculum links include:
Indigenous Studies – Identity/Society/History and Politics, Civics and Citizenship – Human Rights, History and Citizenship Education – Issues in Society Today/Quebec Society Since 1980, Health and Personal Development – Identity/Bullying and Discrimination/Substance Use and Addictions, English Language Arts, Media Education – Documentary Film, Social Studies – Law/Communities in Canada, Geography – Territory, Technology Education – Society and Technology