CBC Gem expands Indigenous Stories Collection
CBC Gem has added new titles to the Indigenous Stories Collection, featuring a variety of series and full-length documentaries. Start streaming.
New series and full-length docs honour National Indigenous History Month
New titles have been added to the Indigenous Stories Collection, featuring a variety of series, full-length documentaries from the National Film Board and short documentaries from the National Screen Institute.
The collection also includes previously released Indigenous-themed titles.
CBC Gem will also stream the 2022 INDSPIRE AWARDS in celebration of Indigenous excellence, which will also broadcast on CBC TV June 19 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) and on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen at 8 p.m. (9 AT, 9:30 NT).
Here are new additions to the collection. Start streaming.
*Canadian Premiere*
PREPPERS follows Charlie (Nakkiah Lui, Black Comedy), a young Australian Aboriginal woman, who experiences her own, personal, cataclysmic event when her life crumbles around her. Escaping the fallout, Charlie finds herself at the centre of a mismatched community of 'preppers' planning for the apocalypse. Between climate change, economic catastrophe, terrorism, pandemics, meteor strikes, hostile AI, nuclear proliferation, and alien invasion, it looks almost certain that the end is nigh.
GESPE'GEWA'GI: THE LAST LAND is a 13-part documentary series co-directed by Ernest Webb (Reel Injun) and Greg Lawrence (Kevin Spencer) about the Indigenous fishers of Listuguj, Quebec who make their living on the nearby rivers and ocean, harvesting salmon, crab, lobster, and shrimp. Following larger-than-life characters, audiences will experience the fun and excitement of their lives on and off the water. The film also offers a First Nations perspective on how a commercial fishing industry – one that was born out of violence and defiance – grew to be a key economic and cultural support for the community, helping to preserve Mi'gmaq language and traditions that were almost lost.
SKINDIGENOUS returns for its second season with 13 new episodes profiling some of the most talented Indigenous tattoo artists in the world. The adventure once again takes audiences deep into the world of various tribes and communities using the art of tattoo as a lens. SKINDIGENOUS explores Indigenous tattooing traditions around the world by diving into cultures to discover the tools and techniques, symbols, and traditions that shape their art.
As the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Senator Murray Sinclair was a key figure in raising global awareness of the atrocities of Canada's residential school system. Alanis Obomsawin shares the powerful speech the Senator gave when he accepted the WFM-Canada World Peace Award, interspersing the heartbreaking testimonies of former students imprisoned at residential schools.
WARRIOR SPIRIT (Documentary, directed by Landon Dyksterhouse, 2021, USA)
*Canadian Premiere*
As the inaugural women's flyweight champion and the sport's first Native American champion, Nicco Montaño was a rising star in the UFC. In her quest to defend her title, Montano realizes she'll face her biggest challenge before she ever steps foot in the ring. In this look behind the veil of combat sports, WARRIOR SPIRIT questions the controversial practice of intense weight loss and its damaging effect on even the fittest of athletes.
After working as a clearcut logger in what is now known as the Clayoquot Sound, master carver and land defender Joe Martin reconciles his past by revitalizing the ancestral knowledge and artistic practice of the traditional Tla-o-qui-aht dugout canoe.
Vanessa Tait, a 36-year old Two-Spirited Cree woman and the youngest of three siblings, remembers her father as a hard working carpenter in their northern First Nation of South Indian Lake, Manitoba. Motivated to pursue her education, Vanessa moved to Winnipeg and earned several university degrees, striving to make her father, Kenneth, proud, even though he hasn't been fully accepting of who she is. While embracing herself as a proud Two-Spirited woman and discovering what she wants to become in life, Vanessa receives the shocking news that her father has been diagnosed with kidney failure. Kenneth was forced to leave his family behind and relocate to Winnipeg to receive adequate health care. Vanessa puts her life on hold to care for her father and advocate for him through the complex and challenging health care system. Two years into hemodialysis, Vanessa discovers she is a perfect kidney donor for her ailing father. By gifting a piece of herself, she hopes to save his life and gain his acceptance.
TAILS ON ICE (Documentary, directed by Miranda Currie, 2021, Canada)
This heart-warming story set in the coldest of climates follows Ellesmere, a fit and instantly loveable Canadian Inuit yearling sled dog as she sets off on her first training expedition and rite of passage. With the right experience and discipline Ellesmere has the potential to be the next alpha female. She must learn survival skills from the matriarchs that came before her in order to not only earn, but to defend her position in the dog pack. Running on the Great Slave Lake is no easy task. Ellesmere, along with her musher and pack, must navigate strong winds, snowstorms and pack dynamics. Whatever happens, Ellesmere will find that every dog has a place in the pack.
INDIGENOUS DADS is a conversation between four Indigenous fathers. Drawing upon their life experiences as children and how they were raised, the fathers discuss their parenting methods and concerns for their children. Topics such as single parenting, racism, and life goals are all discussed candidly between the men offering insight into the hopes and fears of Indigenous dads.
REEL INJUN (Documentary, directed by Neil Diamond, 2009, Canada)
REEL INJUN is a witty and entertaining documentary that tells the story of "the Indian" in Hollywood movies and how powerful American myths have influenced the understanding (and misunderstanding) of the Indigenous people of North America in almost every corner of the world. Using clips from hundreds of classic and modern Hollywood films, and featuring candid celebrity interviews, REEL INJUN traces the evolution of cinema's depiction of Indigenous people from the silent film era to today.
MARY TWO-AXE EARLEY: I AM INDIAN AGAIN shares the powerful story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada's Indian Act and became a key figure in Canada's women's rights movement.