Language and Film

“It’s almost like a weaving. And that beautiful woven blanket has had so many of its strings cut by colonialism… I feel like we’re slowly weaving it back together. The language is an integral part of that because it encompasses our way of knowing and being in the world.”

– Marianne Nicolson

Our World Videos

Since 2006, Our World has been conducting filmmaking workshops in remote First Nations communities. These workshops bring together youth, adults and elders to tell their own stories which may include Indigenous translation, speaking and cultural sharing. The mandate of Our World is to partner with First Nations communities to provide access to media arts training as a means of empowerment through artistic and cultural expression, and to integrate Indigenous language and culture into films as a way to heal the past, claim the present and move forward into the future.

Story of Thunder – Nuxalk
Qwaxw – Jerret Snow

Bella Coola, BC
2007
2:17

Drum Practice – Tlingit
Doug Smarch

Teslin, YK
2007
2:42

Power of the Haida People – Haida
Brandon Brown

Masset, Haida Gwaii, BC
2009
3:37

The Story of Pasha – Inuktitut
Pasha Partridge

Kahnawake, QC
2018
2:11

Mohawk Language Videos

Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa (Our Language Society)

Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa (Our Language Society) is a community-based organization that teaches Kanyen’kéha (the “Mohawk” language) to adults on the Six Nations Grand River Territory near Brantford, Ontario. This is a full-time program that takes place over two school years. We began teaching in September, 1999. But we do not just teach language, we create speakers.

See an interview with Ryan DeCaire on language learning and teaching.