Movies: Gil Cardinal

This feature-length documentary traces the journey of the Haisla people to reclaim the G'psgolox totem pole that went missing from their British Columbia village in 1929. The fate of the 19th century traditional mortuary pole remained unknown for ove...

Over the course of a decade Brooks, Alberta, transformed from a socially conservative, primarily white town to one of the most diverse places in Canada as immigrants and refugees flocked to find jobs at the Lakeside Packers slaughterhouse. This film ...

Gil Cardinal searches for his natural family and an understanding of the circumstances that led to his becoming a foster child. An important figure in the history of Canadian Indigenous filmmaking, Gil Cardinal was born to a Métis mother but raised b...

In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 19...

This short documentary tells the intensely personal story of Namrata Gill – one of the many real-life inspirations for Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth – in her own words. After six years, Gill courageously leaves an abusive relationship and launches a ...

Three native Canadians find a boy on the side of a highway who had been struck by a speeding driver....

David Vandenbrink seems like a healthy 21-year-old, bright and articulate young man. There is little to suggest that while in his mother's womb, he suffered permanent brain damage. His condition, fetal alcohol syndrome (F.A.S.), went undiagnosed for ...

The story of Big Bear, the real life Cree chief who campaigned for his people and their land against the Canadian government in the 1870s and 1880s....

This short film traces Pete Standing Alone's personal journey from cultural alienation to pride and belonging. As a spiritual elder, teacher and community leader of the Blood Indians of Southern Alberta, Pete works with youth to repair the cultural a...

This short documentary focuses on the children of alcoholics. In the relaxed environment of a mountain campsite, a group of young people discuss their anger and frustration, and talk about their struggle to cope with the problems created by their par...

Tikinagan is a no-holds-barred account of the difficulties along the path to Native self-determination. Tikinagan is the Ojiubway word for cradleboard... the indigenous device in which babies are carried on a parent's back. Tikinagan is also the name...

A 17-year-old girl refuses medical treatment that will prolong her life due to religious convictions....

This documentary looks at various Indigenous spirituality programs that run in western Canadian federal penitentiaries, as well as in some provincial institutions. These programs are led by elders, with assistance from liaison officers. They include ...

In 1992, the people of Canada had to vote "Yes" or "No" to a new constitution. For the first time in their political history, the Aboriginal people became part of the political process. This film - directed by Gil Cardinal , himself a Metis (half Cre...