CHOOSING & USING INDIGENOUS FILM
RESOURCES
WHY CHOOSE FILMS WITH DIEGETIC INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES?
"increase opportunities for learners to hear a diversity of languages and open up their awareness of other languages & cultures"
Language and culture are merged. Humanities and language teachers often hold the responsibility to teach students content in a variety of subjects from his(hers)tory to geography to global issues while also teaching skills such as critical thinking, effective communication, understanding of modes and their audiences, acknowledging source, deepening reflective practice and identifying positioning (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2017). Learners of all ages including teachers themselves are able to develop these abilities when their worldviews expand. When film resources include Indigenous languages diegetically (within the original script), this increases the opportunities for viewers to hear a diversity of languages and subsequently open up this awareness of language and culture as integrated. While not an absolute, screening films in Indigenous languages can increase potential for the erosion of systemic racism and the disruption of condoned stereotypes.
As it concerns teachers of colonial languages such as English, the English-only argument against using content with other source languages is moot when considering the multitude of skills and worldly strategies that are learned along with language. The use of films in Indigenous languages could be used to complement the receptive skill of reading (subtitles/scripts), the reflective/soft skill of interpreting context and later the productive skills of speaking and writing. The receptive skill of listening in the target language could be practiced instead by listening to a director speak in English about their film and its purpose. Additionally, the counterargument to teachers who don’t think their language students want to learn about other languages and cultures is addressed by Amy Abe: “Many learners have come from countries [that] have been colonized, or have experienced cultural oppression, or are presently in the process of decolonization” (Abe, 2017). She argues that more than ever, immigrant English language learners are interested in not only gaining employability through English but also in learning the true story of their new home.
​
Another benefit of using Indigenous film with Indigenous source language is that there there is built-in capacity for teachers to reproduce correct pronunciations of place names. If the film source is chosen correctly (see checklist), it is highly likely that native actors and native interviewees will correctly model place names and key proper nouns that are often mispronounced by non-natives. When dubbed or translated, these phonetic representations of Indigenous peoples, traditions and cultures are lost. Additionally, Indigenous language use in film curricular materials can support McCarty and Nicholas’ recommendations for 6-8 years of mother tongue language schooling (McCarty, 2014). Keeping educational context and levels of learners in mind are important considerations when choosing film resources and film resources may be better suited for the more mature learner but not always. Class film projects can be perhaps even more useful than film screenings for younger audiences.
With the learner in mind, Christine Rogers Stanton encourages “hearing the story” and using “primary sources” as much as possible for presenting Indigenous curricular materials. The traditional stories told within Indigenous communities shift and shape as they are passed on and retold. It is important for teachers of Indigenous content to consult critical Indigenous theory and ask questions about the medium and language through which stories are told and to also inspire students to do this work. “Understanding Native primary accounts depends upon both a literal and a complex cultural interpretation. For example, literal elements and deeper cultural values are simultaneously affected through the act of transforming oral history—especially that shared in an Indigenous language—to written English text” (Stanton, 2012). If possible, choose Indigenous film resources that contain Indigenous languages as source and be sure to discuss with students the impact that the language of the film has on our understanding of the content as it relates to what is known about Indigenous worldviews and the sacredness of story and tradition.