Our Maternal Home

Feb 6, 2024

0h 27m

★ 8.0

Overview

Filmmaker and educator Janine Windolph ventures from Saskatchewan to Quebec with her two teens and younger sister, tracing their familial origins to the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi. Against the scenic backdrop of these Traditional Lands, Elders offer newfound interdependence and hands-on learning, transforming this humble visit into a sensory-filled expression of reclamation and resilience. Our Maternal Home lovingly establishes a heart-centred form of resistance to confront and heal from the generational impacts of cultural disconnection, making space for what comes next.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

ONF | NFB

Our Maternal Home Trailers

Cast

Self

Dawlari Windolph

Self

Corwyn Windolph-Turtle

Self

Annie Charles

Self

Albert Ottereyes

Self

Devon Neeposh Ottereyes

Self

Irene Otter

Self

Janine Windolph

Self

Phyllis Blacksmith

Self

Maggie Etapp

Self

Roy Ottereyes

Self

Ryan Trapper

The “Prophecy of the 7th Fire” says a “black snake” will bring destruction to the earth. For Winona LaDuke, the “black snake” is oil trains and pipelines. When she learns that Canadian-owned Enbridge plans to route a new pipeline through her tribe’s 1855 Treaty land, she and her community spring into action to save the sacred wild rice lakes and preserve their traditional indigenous way of life. Launching an annual spiritual horse ride along the proposed pipeline route, speaking at community meetings and regulatory hearings. Winona testifies that the pipeline route follows one of historical and present-day trauma. The tribe participates in the pipeline permitting process, asserting their treaty rights to protect their natural resources. LaDuke joins with her tribe and others to demand that the pipelines’ impact on tribal people’s resources be considered in the permitting process.

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