This video looks at negative stereotyping of Aboriginal people in the educational system and in society at large. In movies, television, novels and comic books, Aboriginal people have been stereotyped in ways that limit and dehumanize them. The documentary switches back and forth between historical and contemporary times, drawing attention to the many ways that Aboriginal traditions and cultures have been misunderstood and assigned negative connotations. Segments from a great many interviews with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers, Aboriginal people active in various groups trying to change the educational system, elders, spiritual leaders and many students make up a large part of the video.

THE LONG WALK

National Film Board of Canada 
1998 
48 minutes

Ken Ward was the first Native Canadian to go public with his HIV diagnosis. Seven years later he developed AIDS and remains an ardent activist of HIV prevention and treatment. Ward works primarily with First Nations populations, where the epidemic is often compounded by isolation and poverty. Filmmaker Alan Bibby accompanies Ward as he travels the back roads of the Canadian West, nurturing tolerance and understanding within fearful communities, and bringing hope and guidance to people living with HIV and AIDS.

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Investigative Productions
1990
58 minutes

This award-winning documentary tells the inspired story of Joseph Idlout, once the world's most famous Inuit. It embodies the tragedies and contradictions of the colonization of Inuit culture. The star of many films and books, Idlout was one of the hunters pictured for years on Canada's $2 bill. In Between Two Worlds, Idlout's son takes the viewer on a fascinating journey through his father's life as a trapper and guide to white men.

FORGOTTEN WARRIORS
National Film Board of Canada
1996
51 minutes

During World War II, thousands of Aboriginal men and women enlisted in the Canadian armed forces. With narrator Gordon Tootoosis providing a historical overview, Aboriginal veterans share their unforgettable war memories and their healing process as they travel back to Europe to perform a sacred circle for friends who died in battle. The video also takes a look at the unequal treatment of Aboriginal veterans after the war, under the Canadian Soldier Veteran's Settlement Act.

NEVER TREATED FAIRLY - Series of 5 Tapes
Saskatchewan Communications Network
5 segments - 60 minutes each

This series looks at government policies made many years ago that have affected Aboriginal people. Some of the videos deal with the impact on Aboriginal people at the time the policy was made; others show how decisions taken years ago continue, even today, to have a devastating impact on their lives. The videos that make up the series are:

l. WALSH
This is the televised version of a play by Sharon Pollock about the relationship of Chief Sitting Bull and Major James Morrow of the North West Mounted Police. In 1876 Sitting Bull led many of his followers from the United States into Canada, asking for asylum. They had enraged the U.S. government by engaging it in armed combat and were forced to flee. While the Canadian government was deciding what position it should take on the issue of asylum, the RCMP was made responsible for the care and well being of the American refugees.

2. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LEDGER: AN INDIAN VIEW OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
The Company's 300th anniversary celebration was no occasion for joy for Aboriginal people. George Manuel, president of the National Indian Brotherhood, expresses their point of view.

3. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
This documentary takes a look at the law which disenfranchised Indian women who married non-Indian men and shows the effect it had on the lives of five women.

4. THE MISSION SCHOOL SYNDROME
This documentary examines the practice of sending Aboriginal children away to mission schools. Several adult Aboriginal Canadians who were sent to these schools as children look back and reflect on its dramatic impact; it was a system that wiped away the ability of a whole generation of Native parents to transmit Aboriginal culture to their children. By familiarizing themselves with the historical roots of education in Aboriginal communities, viewers will gain an understanding of the devastating effects the mission schools had on family lives.

5. RICHARD CARDINAL: CRY FROM A DIARY OF A METIS CHILD POUNDMAKER'S LODGE -- A HEALING PLACE
These two videos, each half an hour in length, make up the fifth segment of this series. The first is a study of the short life of Richard Cardinal, A Metis adolescent who killed himself when he was 17. The video is based on his diary, which records a life spent in foster homes, group homes and shelters. The second video is about a treatment centre for Aboriginal people addicted to drugs and alcohol. Poundmaker's Lodge in St. Albert, Alberta is a place where they can come together for mutual support, to participate in traditional healing rituals, and to learn more about Aboriginal cultures.

NO TURNING BACK
National Film Board of Canada
1997
47 minutes

For two-and-a-half years two teams of Aboriginal filmmakers followed the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples as it travelled across Canada, visiting more than 100 communities and hearing from 1,000 Aboriginal representatives. No Turning Back documents this historic trip. The video weaves the passionate and articulate voices of Indian, Inuit, and Métis with the history of the relationship between First Nations peoples and the Canadian government.

RIEL COUNTRY
National Film Board of Canada
1996
49 minutes

High school students from the predominantly Aboriginal North End of Winnipeg, with the support of their peers from the Francophone district of St. Boniface, work to produce a play on the origins of the Metis — a theme which links both groups to Louis Riel's dream of a society in which respect for differences is a founding principle. The young people explore a number of questions. What is their place in their respective communities? How do they co-exist with the predominant culture? How is intolerance and racism dealt with? Suggested activities for teachers who use the video are provided in the front flap of the video box.

TAKING TRADITION TO TOMORROW
American Indian Science and Engineering Society
1988
27 minutes

Taking Tradition to Tomorrow is designed to increase understanding of the important role American Indians have played in the advancement of government, medicine, agriculture and natural sciences in the United States. This video is ideal for all students from junior high school to college and university and comes with a complementary study guide.

THE METIS SCRIP SYSTEM
Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research
1997
28:30 minutes

This video is about the Métis scrip system implemented from 1870-1921, and its role in the dissolution and dispersal of the Métis people in Western Canada.

THE MIND OF A CHILD
National Film Board of Canada
1995
59:30 minutes

Subtitled "Working with children affected by poverty, racism and war," this documentary follows the successful work of Lorna Williams with Aboriginal children in Canada who are dropping out of school, losing hope, and committing suicide in terrifying numbers. Her work led her to Reuven Feuerstein, an Israeli psychologist who began his work with the children of the Holocaust. Feuerstein’s "mediated learning" theory and teaching methods, as adapted by Lorna Williams, have been recommended by the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.