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The Last Days of Okak

1985 23 min
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This short documentary tells the story the once-thriving town of Okak, an Inuit settlement on the northern Labrador coast. Moravian missionaries evangelized the coast and encouraged the growth of Inuit settlements, but it was also a Moravian ship that brought the deadly Spanish influenza during the world epidemic of 1919. The Inuit of the area were decimated, and Okak was abandoned. Through diaries, old photos and interviews with survivors, this film relates the story of the epidemic and examines the relations between natives and missionaries.

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The Last Days of Okak

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This short documentary tells the story the once-thriving town of Okak, an Inuit settlement on the northern Labrador coast. Moravian missionaries evangelized the coast and encouraged the growth of Inuit settlements, but it was also a Moravian ship that brought the deadly Spanish influenza during the world epidemic of 1919. The Inuit of the area were decimated, and Okak was abandoned. Through diaries, old photos and interviews with survivors, this film relates the story of the epidemic and examines the relations between natives and missionaries.

  • director
    Anne Budgell
    Nigel Markham
  • producer
    Kent Martin
  • executive producer
    Barry Cowling
  • script
    Anne Budgell
  • photography
    Nigel Markham
  • editing
    Nigel Markham
  • sound
    Jim Rillie
  • sound editing
    Eric Emery
  • narrator
    Waldo Scharwey
    Fran Williams

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The Last Days of Okak
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