Indian Film Crew

Origins

The Indian Film Crew (IFC) was a project of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Established by an act of Parliament in 1939, the NFB had a mandate “to produce, distribute, and promote the production and distribution of films designed to interpret Canada to Canadians and to other nations.” The goal of the new organization was to “through a national use of cinema, see Canada and see it whole: its people and its purpose.”

In the 1960s, living conditions in Indigenous communities in Canada became a public concern. The federal government’s Privy Council Office, which supports Canada’s policy and legislative agendas, asked the NFB to make a film about poverty. In 1967, an interdepartmental committee with members from the federal government and the NFB was established. The committee initiated a new film program at the NFB to “provide marginalized people with opportunities to 'talk back' through filmmaking.” The goal of the new program, Challenge for Change (CFC), was to create social change. Between 1967 and 1980, over 200 films in French and English were produced for Challenge for Change.

Challenge for Change

In the early years, Indigenous peoples did not have their own voice in National Film Board films. Films promoted assimilationist and misleading romantic storylines. In the 1960s, an executive at Challenge for Change (CFC) stated, “the Board had been making too many films ‘about’ the Indian, all from the white man’s viewpoint. What would be the difference if Indians started making films themselves?”

In 1968, George Stoney, then executive producer of CFC, created the Indian Film Crew (IFC). The project was financed by what was then the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Company of Young Canadians, a short-lived voluntary agency of the government of Canada that promoted social, economic and community development (see also Federal Departments of Indigenous and Northern Affairs).

Indian Film Crew

Once Challenge for Change (CFC) was established, it recruited Indigenous volunteers from Memorial University of Newfoundland. They went to the National Film Board (NFB) headquarters in Montreal to attend six weeks of training. The trainees expressed that this was the first time that a government had supported the viewpoints of Indigenous peoples.

Seven members of the Indian Film Crew (IFC) were recruited from several different Indigenous peoples in Canada. These included Barbara Wilson (Haida), Roy Daniels (Ojibwe), Tom O'Connor (Anishinaabe), Noel Starblanket (Cree), Morris Isaac (Mi’kmaq), Willie Dunn (Mi’kmaq/Scottish) and Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell (Kanyen’kehà:ka).

The Ballad of Crowfoot (1968)

The first film created by the IFC was The Ballad of Crowfoot, written and directed by Willie Dunn, a Mi’kmaq/Scottish folk singer. Dunn made history as the first Indigenous person to direct a film at the NFB. The film tells the story of Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot), a Siksika chief in the 1800s. Isapo-muxika negotiated with the federal government regarding Treaty 7. He also kept the Siksika out of the 1885 North-West Resistance. Sometimes considered Canada's first music video, The Ballad of Crowfoot discussed the poverty experienced by Indigenous peoples at the time.

The Ballad of Crowfoot, Willie Dunn, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Travelling College (1968)

The goal of Travelling College was to illustrate to Indigenous peoples across North America the importance of the Native North American Travelling College (NNATC). Established in 1969 by the Mohawks of Akwesasne, the college began as a mobile van that travelled to Indigenous communities. Its goal was to educate people about Indigenous identities.

Travelling College, Indian Film Crew, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

You Are on Indian Land (1969)

You Are on Indian Land documented a 1968 protest by the Mohawks of Akwesasne, a Kanyen’kehà:ka community located in Eastern Ontario. The community is composed of land in Ontario, Quebec and New York state. The protest erupted following the Canadian government’s refusal to uphold the 1794 Jay’s Treaty. The treaty recognized a right permitting duty-free cross-border passage for Indigenous peoples in North America. The film, which was seen extensively in North America, is credited with galvanizing Indigenous activism in Canada (see also Indigenous Political Organization and Activism in Canada). The film was successful in settling conflicts between the Mohawks of Akwasesne and the government.

You Are on Indian Land, Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

These Are My People (1969)

These Are My People visits Akwesasne, where powerful leader Frank Thomas (Standing Arrow) and spiritual leader Tom Porter discussed the longhouse religion (see also Handsome Lake Religion). The longhouse religion is a religion practised by some Haudenosaunee communities in Canada and the US, where ceremonies are held in a longhouse. The film also discussed culture, government and how settlers impacted their way of life.

These Are My People..., Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell, Willie Dunn, Barbara Wilson & Roy Daniels, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson's Bay Company (1972)

The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson’s Bay Company was released following the 300th anniversary of the Hudson’s Bay Company, established in 1670. It was narrated by George Manuel, then president of the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). The film discussed the exploitation of Indigenous peoples by the fur-trading empire, which colonized central, western and northern Canada.

The Other Side of the Ledger: An Indian View of the Hudson's Bay Company, Martin Defalco & Willie Dunn, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Legacy

In 1971, the Indian Film Crew (IFC) transitioned into the Indian Film Training Program (IFTP), which offered training and work opportunities until its completion in 1973. In 1991, the National Film Board (NFB) established Studio One in Edmonton. Operating until 1995, Studio One was a film and video production program for Indigenous peoples.

The IFC paved the way for future Indigenous programs at the NFB and for Indigenous filmmakers to tell stories in their own voices (see also Influential Indigenous Filmmakers in Canada).

“We didn’t have the technical skills of the veterans, but we had a whole lot of new ideas about how to make films. The work we did … was spreading the message we didn’t want to be Canada’s Indians anymore… We started promoting an attitude of taking into account of who we are and where we belong in this country.”

—Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell, Indian Film Crew Director