CHOOSING & USING INDIGENOUS FILM
RESOURCES
WHY DISPEL THE FILMIC "MYTH OF OBJECTIVITY"?
"choosing counter-narratives to mainstream depictions reminds learners that there are many Indigenous cultures & voices"
A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is meant to represent the whole or vice versa. General Commercial Cinema (GCC), other media as well as curricular materials (textbooks and novels) are all wont to misrepresent Indigeneity and to try to represent Indigenous worldviews as flat or one whole rather than as the mosaic of views and cultures that exist. The challenge for the classroom teacher is to avoid expressing that one Indigenous culture or community is like another but instead that there are “many nations, many cultures and many languages” (Galla, 2017). Covering one novel written by an Indigenous scholar does not make the study of diverse peoples exhaustive. Just as truth and reconciliation are an ongoing process, so is Indigenous inquiry. Therefore, choosing appropriate representations of Indigenous cultures and using critical approaches to discussing them can be useful for dispelling the “myth of objectivity" (Stanton, 2012) that accompanies certain mediums of information.
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Choosing a resource that conveys a counter-narrative to mainstream neocolonial representations of Indigenous knowledge systems is the first step, but next, teachers may want to look at the components within. Holm, Pearson and Chavis have devised a model for interpreting identity in Indigenous stories. “The peoplehood model is a holistic matrix and reflects a much more accurate picture of the ways in which Native Americans act, react, pass along knowledge, and connect with the ordinary as well as the supernatural worlds. (Holm et al., 2003). A film may be a good resource if it approaches Indigeneity from at least one or two of these components: land, language, ceremony and sacred history. With this in mind, it is important to note that not all Indigenous films will focus on "common issues of sovereignty, activism, economy, environment, governance, and education” however films that highlight these can offer a more exoteric and clear lens on pertinent issues and current realities (Fatzinger, 2017).
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In conversation with John Purdy, Sherman Alexie describes the dual role that cultural content can play in his stories: “Yeah, I load my books with stuff, just load ‘em up. I call them ‘Indian trapdoors’. You know, Indians fall in, white people just walk right over them" (Purdy, 2017). Using accurate primary sources will not only potentially reduce misrepresentation but can also add layers of meaning that can engage Indigenous audiences as well. A similar concept is used when animated films aim to both entertain young viewers and add innuendo for adult viewers. In preparing to teach First Peoples’ content, teachers would do well to survey their students anonymously to find out which students identify as Indigenous and how they feel about being asked to share their perspectives in classroom conversations. Teachers can also acknowledge in advance that their teacher’s voice is just once voice and not necessarily a source voice. This is an important admission but beyond layered content, trapdoors and Indigenous student perspectives adding to the patchwork of Indigenous worldviews, there are yet other considerations from which to approach engagement with Indigenous curricular content.
It’s already been mentioned that a teacher should state their positionality before teaching but another key element is to use and discuss Indigenous film content through the lens of intersectionality and heteroglossia (many voices). Asking how the content reflects marginalized views within the larger context for example, women’s voices, youth voices, LGBTQ and two-spirited voices as well as how these voices connect with those of other often diminished voices in society is pivotal in promoting acceptance. "Women's voices are most often subsumed under a hegemonic male voice of authority that claims to speak for all members of a community" (Stenport, 2016). For this reason, choosing films produced by collectives such as Arnait Video Productions, an Inuit Women's Collective of filmmakers, and Paper Rocket Productions, a Hopi and Navajo youth collective are paramount. As defined in Camera Obscura's endorsement of Arnait Productions, the Inuktitut word for the Internet ikiaqqivik means "traveling through layers" (Stenport, 2016). It is through these myriad layers that we must seek to understand Indigenous worldviews.