The Indigenous People in Film Panel spoke following a screening of “Bones of Crows” at KFS’s second annual Indigenous film festival on Oct. 12, 2023.

Image Credit: Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative

The first time emerging Secwépemc screenwriter Amanda Wandler saw Indigenous people represented in a film, it was in Disney’s Pocohontas.

Back then, Indigenous representation in movies was few and far between, and she recalls noticing it was “filled with a lot of Indigenous stereotypes.”

Today, however, the film industry is experiencing a new wave of Indigenous filmmaking, with the advent of movies such as Bones of Crows that tell “the truth, the history of the people in Canada,” she said.

“It’s just going to get better, people are going to really connect with these stories and have a better understanding of Indigenous people.”

Wandler shared the anecdote during an Indigenous People in Film Panel in Tk’emlúps te Secwe?pemc territories last week hosted by the Kamloops Film Society (KFS). The event was part of KFS’s second annual Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival, taking place at the Paramount Theatre from Oct. 12 to 14.

Young actors tell their stories

The panel took place after a screening of the 2022 drama Bones of Crows, and included two young actors from the film, Tyler Peters and Ethan Evans, as well as screenwriters Isaiah Harris and Wandler.

Throughout the panel the artists discussed the need for cultural storytelling and the impact it has on the public. The film Bones of Crows tells a richly-layered story of how residential “school” has affected generations of Indigenous families.

The film features scenes filmed at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS). This “school” is a site where stories emerged that reflect the upsetting themes of the film.

Both Peters and Evans had their first acting roles in Bones of Crows, playing young versions of the adult actors.

Peters spoke about the importance of this film in order to help non-Indigenous people connect with the realities of Indigenous families “so they can support and help Indigenous people.”

Peters is from Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc and said he is inspired by his grandparents — his grandfather is a residential “school” survivor and has shared stories with him. Peters said that he enjoys relaying Secwépemc stories to his family members such as stories of how animals first acquired different details on their bodies and fur.

Evans described storytelling as having an idea that you want to spread.

“It could be real life, if you have a story from the past, you want to tell other people or it could be something made up and you just want to tell them about it because it’s a cool idea,” he said.

In this digital age, Evans said historical stories being told in cinema is a better way to spread the news, “more people will get to see it, more people will know about it.”

Acting in Bones of Crows allowed Evans to be more connected to his culture, and he hopes this will help others to become more connected as well. Evans said the telling of First Nations stories will “help spread awareness, build a bigger community, build more hope, bring everyone back together.”

A ‘golden age’ for Indigenous cinema

Harris, a screenwriter and filmmaker from Stz’uminus First Nation, said he believes that Bones of Crows and other films in the same vein represent the beginning of a “golden age” for Indigenous stories in cinema.

“We’re seeing films like Bones of Crows be made and other films that are showing all sorts of perspectives from all kinds of Indigenous people for the first time ever,” he said.

To him, this boom of Indigenous stories being told is promising and he looks forward to seeing what comes next.

Harris recalled how he has been writing “for as long as I can remember.” At a young age Harris used to write and illustrate his own comic books which he would sell to his family members at their gatherings. When it comes to screenwriting for film, Harris says “that focus has only been for the last three years or so.”

He added that you can get a “specific cultural and personal perspective across to an audience who has not lived that perspective through the medium of film” and this helps to get stories out into the world.

Harris said that as a person who lives on reserve, “culture is something that I’ve been surrounded by my whole life and being able to focus on that has been really exciting.” To Harris it’s also a merging of ideas, “why not blend my own cultural perspective with, you know, something a little bit more set in the future?”

“So, the idea of being able to tell like a post apocalyptic story, or, you know, a sprawling, epic fantasy series, you know, through the lens of indigenous cultures and indigenous characters, is really exciting to be able to provide a very fun, interesting lens to our very, very cultural specific stories,” he said.

Wandler, as a fellow writer, said she is in the process of learning more about her culture and said “I’m always learning and trying to grow and understand.”

Wandler discussed how she has loved storytelling since she was a child but it has been a recent transition from her corporate job to the film industry. She said that she “decided to go back to school to learn about creative writing and to improve my creative writing skills.” Wandler is currently working on a screenplay which she would like to get produced or produce herself.

To Wandler storytelling is “connecting with people, telling them stories that maybe they’ve never heard before, they’ve never experienced before.” To her storytelling is every type of art including visual art, writing screenplays and acting. All of these encourage “connecting with people and just letting people live through your eyes.”

‘I connect more when I see myself in the characters’

As Harris has been involved in the film industry for a couple years now, he has gained invaluable knowledge. “You know, the goal, I think really at the end of the day is not just to have a straight up representation of Indigenous people in film, that is absolutely an aspect of it, but it’s really about building an indigenous industry, a film industry, a long lasting one.” To Harris, it’s this collaboration that will aid in “building a very strong and reliable community of indigenous filmmakers and creatives.”

Wandler says, “I connect more when I see myself in the characters.” She added that the first time she saw Bones of Crows “it helped me understand my own family more” and “have more empathy” which allowed her to process her family’s trauma.

“There are so many people that have lived through that and to talk about it is one thing but to see it with your own eyes in a film like this is another thing because it’s more powerful.”

— This story was originally published by IndigiNews.

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