Colonization and Assimilation
Books, Fiction
Secret of the Dance
By Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow, 2006.
An illustrated storybook about a boy who views a secret potlatch at the time when they were outlawed by the Canadian government. (Grade 1 and up)
Film & Video
Broken Promises: The High Arctic Relocation
From this site: "In the summer of 1953, the Canadian government relocated seven Inuit families from Northern Quebec to the High Arctic. They were promised an abundance of game and fish - in short, a better life. The government assured the Inuit that if things didn't work out, they could return home after two years. Two years later, another 35 people joined them. It would be thirty years before any of them saw their ancestral lands again."
Forgotten Warriors
National Film Board of Canada, 1997. (51 min)
From the NFB website: “Although they could not be conscripted, when World War II was declared, thousands of Canadian Aboriginal men and women enlisted and fought alongside their non-Native countrymen. While they fought for freedom for others, ironically the Aboriginal soldiers were not allowed equality in their own country.”
Club Native
National Film Board of Canada, 2008. (78 mins)
From the NFB website: “In Club Native, Deer looks deeply into the history and present-day reality of Aboriginal identity. With moving stories from a range of characters from her Kahnawake Reserve - characters on both sides of the critical blood-quantum line - she reveals the divisive legacy of more than a hundred years of discriminatory and sexist government policy and reveals the lingering “blood quantum” ideals, snobby attitudes and outright racism that threaten to destroy the fabric of her community.”
The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson`s Bay Company
National Film Board of Canada, 1972. (43 mins)
From the NFB website: “The Hudson's Bay Company's 300th anniversary celebration was no occasion for joy among the people whose lives were tied to the trading stores. This film, narrated by George Manuel, president of the National Indian Brotherhood, presents the view of spokesmen for Canadian Indian and Métis groups. There is a sharp contrast between the official celebrations, with Queen Elizabeth II among the guests, and what Indians have to say about their lot in the Company's operations."
Available online.