ipl-logo

The Secret Path Film Analysis

925 Words4 Pages

Counteracting Indigenous stereotypes in The Secret Path by Gord Dowie, and Illustrated by Jeff Lemire The Secret Path is a multimedia project that focuses on an Ojibwe boy named Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack, and his escape from residential school. The project premiered on October 23rd 2016, and it comprises of an album, a graphic novel, and an animated film. It was created by Gord Downie and illustrated by Jeff Lemire, both whom are artists that are “white and from southern Ontario,” and they both have no Indigenous heritage (Grundy). In the text, “‘Sharing Our Stories with All Canadians’: Decolonizing Aboriginal Media and Aboriginal Media Politics in Canada,” Kerstin Knopf suggests that Aboriginal people are best suited for countering the “prevalent …show more content…

Several members of Indigenous communities, along with the Wenjack family, have praised the project. Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, called it a “powerful film” and stated that his community was “inspired by Gord Downie’s determination to share the story of Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack and history of the Indian Residential School era” (NetNewsLedger). Likewise, Former regional chief Charles Fox claimed the film revived “a lot of memories” surrounding his experience in Residential school (Garrick). The Wenjack family, has adopted Mike Downie and Gord Downie, as “blood brothers” for their work on The Secret Path (Garrick). With this in mind, these Indigenous individuals and community leaders are suggesting this story is an accurate representation of their history. In addition this story has been taken up by multiple platforms, including twitter. Several teachers have come forward on twitter claiming to use The Secret Path in their lesson plans. @MrsMievresClass tweeted, “The Secret Path makes reconciliation real for Pilot Butte students,” the tweet includes a picture of young students holding up drawings related to Wenjack’s plight. While @cheranpete stated that “[his] class has been walking in memory of #ChanieWenjack We will not forget, we will do better.” @cheranpete’s tweet also includes a screenshot of The Secret Path, with a number of boots placed along side Chanie on the railway

Show More
Related

Theresa Dodaro: The Tin Box Secret

1206 Words | 5 Pages

Theresa Dodaro, author of Young Adult and Women’s Historical Fiction October 20, 1958, was not just any old day in Baldwin, NY. It was the day, Theresa Dodaro was born and the city became the place where she published her first novel. History and the “Once upon a time” story that it tells has significant interest for the author of the Tin Box Secret trilogy who spends time researching her family’s history as far back as the 1600s. Not only does she enjoy discovering her family’s heritage, she’s also traced her husband’s family lineage and has helped others discover their family roots.

Read More

Analysis Of Birdie By Tracey Lindberg

1802 Words | 8 Pages

Tracey Lindberg’s novel Birdie is narratively constructed in a contorting and poetic manner yet illustrates the seriousness of violence experience by Indigenous females. The novel is about a young Cree woman Bernice Meetoos (Birdie) recalling her devasting past and visionary journey to places she has lived and the search for home and family. Lindberg captures Bernice’s internal therapeutic journey to recover from childhood traumas of incest, sexual abuse, and social dysfunctions. She also presents Bernice’s self-determination to achieve a standard of good health and well-being. The narrative presents Bernice for the most part lying in bed and reflecting on her dark life in the form of dreams.

Read More

The Truth About Stories By Thomas King Sparknotes

1363 Words | 6 Pages

The book defines stories as being multifaceted and varied, as “dangerous and wondrous” (p.9), “all we are” (p.32), as a way to create our own path (p.25), or as medicine, that can cure or injure depending on how it’s told (p.92), and so on. Through his book, King teaches the reader about Indigenous stories, as well as very personal and human stories that illustrate the very concrete notions of Indigenous issues to the reader. King’s use of personal stories has for

Read More

Motorcycle And Sweetgrass Analysis

2148 Words | 9 Pages

Marcus Garvey said, “People without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” For the citizens of Otter Lake, a fictional reserve set in Drew Hayden Taylor’s Novel Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, they are disconnected from their cultural roots. Much of the older generation is suffering psychologically from the effects of residential schools, where their culture was taken from them. The younger generations in return feel no ties to their past as they were raised by people who feelings towards it were conflicted as they spent years being abused and told that their culture was wrong. As an author, one of their main roles is to convey a message.

Read More

Influencing True Son's Identity In The Light In The Forest By Conrad Richard

762 Words | 4 Pages

A father’s influence on his son affects the boy the man will someday become. In the novel, The Light in the Forest, writer Conrad Richter tells the story of True Son, a white boy kidnapped and raised as a Native American for eleven years then returned to his white family, as he searches for his place in the world. True Son’s three fathers, Cuyloga, Harry Butler, and The Sun, greatly impact True Son’s identity. Each influencing True Son directly and indirectly during his course of hardships and new experiences. To begin, Cuyloga, a respected and beloved Native American chief, influences True Son’s personality and beliefs for eleven formative years.

Read More

Birdie And Indian Horse Analysis

1624 Words | 7 Pages

The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite both apologies from Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations children appears to have detrimental effects on the life of a child. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, family members who abuse their children because they consume high amounts of alcohol, which has a negative impact on the child, and discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities. To begin with, young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain.

Read More

Pierre Trudeau Federalism

1515 Words | 7 Pages

Institutional and historical analysis often portray the motives of governments, especially in the cases of Quebec separatism and Aboriginal mistreatment. History describes attempts at compromise to rectify the problems by altering political institutions to provide more autonomy to the provinces, witness in various accords and the methods described previously. However, in regards to Aboriginals a historical relationship of exploitation and eradication sheds on the systemic issues that Aboriginals cope with and the institutions that caused them. As scholars of Canadian politics, it is important to consider historical and institutional analyses when looking at any issue, as it reveals the underlying motives of actors in regards to the cleavages that comprise a state.

Read More

Yin Chin Analysis

1465 Words | 6 Pages

In Knoph’s “Sharing our Story with All Canadians”, Knoph emphasizes the effects of propaganda on the First Nation by describing the “colonizing gaze to depict Aboriginal culture to be inferior” (Knoph 89), showing that the aboriginals were brainwashed to believe they had to adapt to the newfound culture. The narrator speaks of the uniform brainwashing of minority groups in order to appeal to western culture; “in the face of a crass white world we has erased so much of ourselves and sketched so many cartoons characters of white people over-top the emptiness inside” (Maracle 158), revealing that the heritage of the older generations will soon be completely forgotten. Maracle chose to implement the idea of brainwashing into the story to place emphasis on the importance of carrying on traditions to remember the roots instead of becoming a one indifferent

Read More

Banned Book Research Paper

859 Words | 4 Pages

The book focuses on a young boy named Arnold Spirit who shows persistence and bravery as he defies all odds and strides towards a happier more successful life than his parents and ancestors before him. Arnold is a bright, inspiring young boy who grows up with little fortune and is destined to continue down the path of a poor, misunderstood Indian. However, his fate changes for the better when a spark lights the fire inside of him to strive to pursue a better, more flourishing life as he makes an extraordinary decision to transfer to an all-white school for a worthier education. However, the drastic change of schools puts a burden on his family to get him to school as well as leads to extreme bullying from not just kids at his new school but also from his fellow Indians in his hometown. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I learned that it doesn 't matter what your situation is and what you are expected to accomplish in your lifetime or what standards have already been set for you because you can be whoever you want to be with hard work, ambition, and confidence.

Read More

Analysis Of Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

1121 Words | 5 Pages

In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.

Read More

Keeper N Me Richard Wagamese Analysis

1520 Words | 7 Pages

Standing in the snow watching the day break Wagamese teaches the reader about S’Beedahbun, life, and how all life is connected. “Them trees a part of you, rocks a part of you, water a part of you, animals a part of you, everything.” (pg. 161) These bonds that hold everyone together is not understood by the government like the rest of Ojibway culture. The government did not think Alice Raven was able to look after her children, this is why her four children were taken from her and placed in foster homes. Like most Indigenous kids that where placed in foster care or

Read More

Themes In The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

702 Words | 3 Pages

Overcoming a challenge, not giving up, and not being afraid of change are a few themes demonstrated in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Perhaps the most prominent theme derived from the novel is defying the odds, or in other words rising above the expectations of others. Junior Spirit exemplifies this theme throughout the entirety of the book. As Junior is an Indian, he almost expects that he will never leave the reservation, become an alcoholic, and live in poverty like the other Indians on the reservation—only if he sits around and does not endeavor to change his fate. When Junior shares the backstory of his parents, he says that his mother and father came from “poor people who came from poor people who came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people” (11).

Read More

Analysis Of Rabbit Proof Fence

979 Words | 4 Pages

Shedding light on a heinous chapter of Australian history, Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film adaption of the book by Doris Pilkington, Rabbit Proof Fence serves as a glaring reminder of the atrocities suffered by those of the “stolen generation”. Set in 1931, the film portrays a simplified version of the early life of three Aboriginal girls and their daring journey from an “integration program” to home again via the Rabbit Proof Fence. They are pursued by A.O. Neville (Branagh), the school director, whom, under government authority, is taking Aboriginal children from their homes and placing them in schools to be educated or more accurately, indoctrinated. Rabbit Proof Fence, through its compelling storyline and depiction of harsh reality, highlights to us that the real villain in colonial Australia was the government and it’s utterly racist policies. As a critic, this film struck me, as I’m sure it will many other viewers, in its veracity of the truth when displaying potentially painful situations.

Read More

The Next Black Film Analysis

1417 Words | 6 Pages

Fundamentals of Fashion And Their Reflection In “The Next Black” Aaliya Gujral Unquestionably clothes are a prominent part of our lives. They help us express who we are and often represent our sex, occupation, age and social standing. Clothing has been used by humans for thousands of years, and comes in a variety of forms. It has evolved throughout the course of history to include more fabrics, patterns, styles and designs.

Read More

In Search Of April Raintree Analysis

1394 Words | 6 Pages

For Cheryl, she embraces her Metis culture and heritage. “‘I wish we were whole Indians’” (40). Throughout her time at school, Cheryl reads history books about Metis people and historical figures such as Louis Riel. She would also passionately write on what she thinks about the Metis people. At university, she writes a piece which points about the crucial effects white people have brought along in North America.

Read More

More about The Secret Path Film Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document