As part of THE NFB IN LIBRARIES, the Westmount Public Libraries is offering a free screening of:

Our People Will Be Healed (Alanis Obomsawin | 2017 | 97 min)

Alanis Obomsawin’s 50th film, reveals how a Cree community in Manitoba has been enriched through the power of education. The Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House, north of Winnipeg, receives a level of funding that few other Indigenous institutions enjoy. Its teachers help their students to develop their abilities and their sense of pride. In addition to teaching academic subjects, the school reconnects students with their ancestral culture.

The fifth film in a cycle that began with The People of the Kattawapiskak River, Our People Will Be Healed adopts an optimistic tone without denying a dark past. It bears witness to the tragedies that have befallen the Plains Cree, such as being confined to reserves, forbidden to practise any cultural ceremonies, including the Sun Dance, and sent off to residential schools. But first and foremost, the film conveys a message of hope: that in an appropriate school environment, one that incorporates their people’s history, language and culture, Indigenous youth can realize their dreams.

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Special guest: director Alanis Obomsawin, will be in attendance for post-screening talk.

Please visit organiser’s website for more info : https://westlib.org/iguana/www.main.cls