Birthday of Alanis Obomsawin
Aug. 31, 1932
Abenaki activist, musician, and one of the most acclaimed Indigenous film makers in the world. Best known for her documentaries Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance about the Oka Crisis and Incident at Restigouche, she has made over 30 documentaries about First Nations issues.
On her childhood, she said “They were teaching hate towards our people for many generations. And then when I understood, I became a fighter against it … I felt that the children should hear other stories than what they were hearing.” She says what she wanted most was “the voice of our people to be heard in the educational system, especially;” that she could share her belief in “our people, the culture, the language, all the beautiful ways of living;”
On her childhood, she said “They were teaching hate towards our people for many generations. And then when I understood, I became a fighter against it … I felt that the children should hear other stories than what they were hearing.” She says what she wanted most was “the voice of our people to be heard in the educational system, especially;” that she could share her belief in “our people, the culture, the language, all the beautiful ways of living;”