Indigenous Peoples and Christianity (8)

St. Laurent Pilgrimage
Dan J. McCrimmon 1985 2 min
This very short film from the Canada Vignettes series documents the annual pilgrimage that members of Saskatchewan’s Métis Catholic community make to St. Laurent, a village in the Duck Lake area that became the Métis nation’s spiritual centre at the time of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
Vignettes from Labrador North
Roger Hart 1979 4 min
This short film from the Canada Vignettes series chronicles the history of Labrador's Inuit and the role of the Moravian missionaries.

Please note that this is an archival film that makes use of the word “Eskimo,” an outdated and offensive term. While the origin of the word is a matter of some contention, it is no longer used in Canada. The term was formally rejected by the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1980 and has subsequently not been in use at the NFB for decades. This film is therefore a time-capsule of a bygone era, presented in its original version. The NFB apologizes for the offence caused.
Eye Witness No. 30
1951 10 min
These vignettes from 1951 covered various aspects of life in Canada and were shown in theatres across the country. Subjects included here are British Columbia's Cariboo Trail, once the scene of a great gold rush and which still pays off for the placer miner and occasional prospector; Canada's new state residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, a redesigned old stone mansion destined to become Canada's No. 10 Downing Street; a unique ceremony in remote Chesterfield Inlet as the first Inuit girl in history receives the veil of the Grey Nuns; Great Lakes conservationists outsmart the eel-like bloodsucker that preys on fish; and the new blue model uniforms designed for the Women's Division of the Air Force.

Please note that this is an archival film that makes use of the word “Eskimo,” an outdated and offensive term. While the origin of the word is a matter of some contention, it is no longer used in Canada. The term was formally rejected by the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1980 and has subsequently not been in use at the NFB for decades. This film is therefore a time-capsule of a bygone era, presented in its original version. The NFB apologizes for the offence caused.
The Last Days of Okak
Anne Budgell & Nigel Markham 1985 23 min
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.
Mission of Fear
Fernand Dansereau 1965 1 h 19 min
The story of the Jesuit martyrs who lived with the Wendat converts in the region near what is now Midland, Ontario. The film is of wide interest since it reconstructs a period of Canadian history, especially of Indigenous life, at the very beginning of European settlement. The village and the Jesuits' buildings are exact models from archeologists' reconstructions. The story is based on the Jesuit Relations, the actual journals of mission life that still make for thrilling reading.
O'Siem
Gillian Darling 1996 53 min
This documentary offers an engrossing portrait of Gene Harry, devoted husband, father, and foster father. He's also a Church Minister, champion dragon boat racer, long-boat canoe paddler, and Eagle Spirit Dancer in the traditional Salish Long House. In short, he's remarkable. And when he speaks, people listen. Discover why with this up-close look a the humble, yet charismatic, First Nations spiritual healer.
Second Stories - Honour Thy Father
Gerald Auger 2008 21 min
This short documentary takes a poignant look at cultural misunderstanding and its toll on a family's grief. When filmmaker Gerald Auger lost his father, the local Anglican priest refused to allow the family to bury their father in the traditional Cree way - with the drum and the smudge - because he was buried on Anglican church property. Gerald sets out to resolve his hurt and anger and his path leads him to some unexpected places.
Second Stories follows on the heels of the enormously successful First Stories project, which produced 3 separate collections of short films from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Second Stories builds on that success by continuing the training with 3 of the 12 Indigenous filmmakers who delivered such compelling short documentaries. Produced in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm and MANITOBA FILM & SOUND.
Unitas Fratrum: The Moravians in Labrador

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Hubert Schuurman 1983 26 min
The Moravians, an early Protestant group, founded missions on the Labrador coast in the 18th century. Serving as a buffer between the Indigenous people and the whalers, the Moravians laid the basis for a new society that blended traditional European and Inuit cultures. This film shows a year in the life of the Moravian mission of Nain and describes some of the stresses the modern world has brought to this isolated Arctic community. Interviewed are a retired teacher who came with the last European mission, and the first Native Moravian minister. (Telecast in the Man Alive series under the title Band of Brethren.)

Indigenous Peoples and Christianity (8)

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