Western films perpetuate stereotypes against indigenous people. This has led to a common belief that aboriginal tribes across the world are barbaric and need to be ‘educated’ in Western ways to stop their primitive ways. The film industry has been at the forefront, portraying indigenous people erroneously and cementing stereotypes across the globe. This was the case throughout the 20th century and continues to be the practice so far. With the growth of technology, indigenous filmmakers have risen to challenge erroneous representation by telling their stories more objectively. Wapikoni Mobile is one such organization based in Canada. It seeks to educate the public about aboriginal cultures and dispel common biases perpetuated by the film industry. Two short films, Uprooted Generation and Auntie’s Hands represent the reality of indigenous communities. This essay postulates that the two films enable Aboriginals to reclaim their narratives and their visual sovereignty.
The two films use different yet effective approaches to challenge biases and misrepresentations that dominate Western movies. Neil Diamond’s The Reel Injun begins with the caption, “Most Indians Don’t ride horses, or wear feathers…but because of movies, most people think they do.” Indeed, this is the image that comes to mind when the term Native Indian is mentioned. Western movies further depict Indian families as disjointed, with the sole purpose of survival. In Auntie’s Hands, Gloria Morgan challenges these stereotypes by taking the audience through a series of close-up pictures showing the day in the life of a native. The film is well-lit and full of color, unlike conventional aboriginal films, which are grainy and dark, depicting a community trapped in ancient times.
Auntie’s hands also shows that family bonds are a source of support and learning for aboriginals. The auntie has more knowledge than the young girl. She seeks to transfer this knowledge to her niece by performing various activities with her. They prepare tea and make bread together, just like families in the rest of the world. This challenges stereotypes that link indigenous tribes with cult-like behavior and enables viewers to observe similarities between the actors’ behaviors and their own lives. According to Raheja, the intention of the natives is not to create stories of resistance; instead, they want to retell their narratives and retain indigenous visual aesthetics (203). As such, the young girl and her auntie capture a normal day in their lives and share it with other people so they can have a clearer picture of what aboriginal life entails.
Additionally, Auntie’s Hands uses sound to create visual sovereignty lacking in most Western Indigenous cinematography. The film utilizes a monotonous soundtrack from start to end. It is devoid of the exaggerated animosity about Aboriginals present in most Western films. As seen in Neil Diamond’s The Reel Injun, Western cinemas portray Indians as hyperactive individuals engaging in war of tribal chants. The films show indigenous communities shrieking or making shrill sounds. Maintaining a uniform, soothing soundtrack enables Gloria Morgan to challenge this stereotype and retell the story in a realistic way. At the same time, activity sounds, such as the bubbling of oil when making fried bread, resonate with normal activities in most Western homes. In most Western films, such small details would have been excluded as they are considered a waste of time and ‘boring’ (Raheja 216). Incorporating such scenes in aboriginal scenes allows viewers to have a clearer picture of their lives and helps them uphold visual sovereignty.
Unlike Auntie’s Hands, which is a pictorial description without words, Real Jr. Leblanc’s Uprooted Generation combines narration, film, history, and personal anecdotes to challenge Western cinematic approaches. Survivance is one of Leblanc’s major themes throughout the film. The film begins by narrating that 150,000 Aboriginal children were forcefully sent into residential schools to eliminate Indian culture. The young girls and boys were sent to these schools against their wish to remain with their families. This portrayal enables viewers to reevaluate the messages in conventional films. Western films suggest that indigenous groups desire Western lifestyles and knowledge. However, the narration in Uprooted Generation shows that this is not the because the young children resisted these schools and desired to reunite with their parents.
The film also challenges the idea that indigenous communities were barbaric and willing to forego their traditions for Western ways. Raheja quotes another film, Nanook of the North, which wrongly portrays a native character, Nanook (190). In this movie, Nanook is introduced to a gramophone by a white trader. In the scene, Nanook appears amused by the gadget and expresses his desire to learn more. He also smiles at the camera, suggesting that he is unaware of being recorded and thus ignorant of the technology. The film tries to show that Nanook would become more knowledgeable by learning the white man’s knowledge since he was ignorant of common items. However, Raheja postulates that this is a wrongful portrayal and the film’s director ignored important cultural factors. Similarly, Uprooted Generation argues that the children forced into residential schools would have been better off pursuing their traditions and indigenous knowledge. After the students left school, many sought to reconnect with their traditions, underscoring the desire to preserve their traditions for future generations.
Uprooted Generation also performs ethnographic refusal. In his narration, Leblanc deviates from conventional Western-style narrations of Aboriginal fil-making. Most directors in Western films treat indigenous communities as passive third parties — their primary role is to receive instructions as a group and as subjects. Uprooted Generation opposes this approach and attaches faces and voices to the receivers of colonial action. The personal anecdote, “I am the descendant of this uprooted generation,” shows views that the actions of the Canadian government affected real people. This is in contrast to conventional films, which consider the victims of colonialism mere statistics. If Uprooted Generation were a Western movie, the narration would likely have considered the 150,000 children a common group without individual identity. This denies indigenous groups the ability to tell their own stories and preserve history in a unique way.
Another approach Leblanc uses to perform ethnographic refusal is highlighting the lived experiences of the children forced to learn in boarding schools. This complements his personal narratives and reinforces the validity of his narration. The belief among the colonialists was that learning in residential schools would make Aboriginals more knowledgeable and civilized. However, the lady sharing her narration dispels the common belief that the school was safe and a tool for knowledge advancement. Children as young as six got sexually molested by the so-called Christian caregivers in the school. Such narratives are uncommon in Western cinematography, and the focus is usually on the success associated with formal education. Narrations from actual students in the boarding school directly challenge mainstream narrations and underscore the purpose of Wapikoni Mobile.
Although Uprooted Generation uses a different approach from Auntie’s hands to challenge the concept of the imaginary Indian, it is equally effective. As noted above, one of the greatest misrepresentations of Indians in Western films is their hyperactive lifestyle — riding horses and chanting in excitement. However, Leblanc’s flashbacks show a people scared of resisting and unsure of what to do. The children in the film appear helpless and unaware of what is happening. An absence of armed resistance from their parents suggests that they were equally terrified of opposing colonial rule. Wakeham shares similar views on the misrepresentation of Aboriginals (25). She notes that the struggle for compensation for evils committed against indigenous communities is often presented as terror in Western media. This suggests that misportrayal of Aboriginals is not a new concept, thus efforts by Uprooted Generation and Auntie’s hands are justified.
Despite the thematic similarities, the two films have some notable differences. Uprooted Generation is more confrontational and direct, while Auntie’s hands utilize a more subtle approach. Leblanc explicitly addressing the challenges faced by Indigenous youth in the late 19th century and 20th century. Questions like “Who were you to empty my village of its children?” are thought-provoking and oppose the views shared by the proponents of colonialism. They also prompt viewers to think about the inhumane treatment meted upon an innocent group whose only mistake was a desire to preserve culture. Leblanc’s approach is a good starting point for the indigenous reconciliation proposed by Wakeham. Indeed, after performing ethnographic refusal and exploring survivance, Aboriginals should seek more from the Canadian government. This will help descendants like Leblanc to achieve justice for the community and themselves.
Auntie’s hands celebrates the strength of Indigenous traditions and the importance of intergenerational connection. The film demonstrates cultural preservation and shared values among Aboriginals. The intention is to enable views to have a better understanding of Indian traditions and show them that it is not different from Western practices. Uprooted Generation has a sense of urgency and ends in a call to action: “I know that the youth of today will find a way to break free.” For Leblanc, sharing Aboriginal colonial struggles is not enough; some memories, such as rape and removal from parental care at a young age, require continued effort to help victims overcome. Additionally, he suggests that individuals in the country must learn from the mistakes of the past to avoid a recurrence of colonialization and cultural suppression.
Uprooted Generation and Auntie’s hands present the reality of Aboriginal communities in Canada. They challenge Western cinematography that portrays Indigenous groups wrongly. Indeed, most Western films depict Indians as hyperactive individuals— riding horses, chanting and wearing colored feathers. Real Jr. Leblanc and Gloria Morgan use unique approaches to retell Aboriginal stories, achieve visual sovereignty, explore survivance and perform ethnographic refusal. Uprooted Generation utilizes a confrontational approach, combining narration, film, history and personal anecdotes to challenge Western cinematic approaches. The film’s message has a sense of urgency and ends in a call to action. Auntie’s hands adopts a subtle approach with a primary aim of redefining the world’s view of Indigenous culture. Despite the differences in approach, the two films achieve their objectives of retelling Aboriginal stories.
Works Cited
Gloria Morgan (Secwépemc) Auntie’s hands.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhbQowf8VBM
Raheja, Michelle H. Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native Americans in Film. University of Nebraska Press, 2010.
Real Jr. Leblanc (Innu): Uprooted Generation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgbjOiUg1g4&t=3s
Wakeham, Pauline. “Reconciling “Terror”: Managing Indigenous Resistance in the Age of Apology.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1-33, https://doi.org/10.5250/amerindiquar.36.1.0001.
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