Alanis Obomsawin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alanis Obomsawin
Obomsawin after recording Waseteg in 2010
Born	August 31, 1932 (1932-08-31) (age 92) near Lebanon, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupation	Film director musician (1973–1976) film producer documentary filmmaker printmaker documentarian film screenwriter singer creative director
Employer	National Film Board of Canada
Works	Bush Lady
Awards	Companion of the Order of Canada Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts Governor General's Performing Arts Award Member of the Order of Canada Order of Montreal Prix Albert-Tessier Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec Edward MacDowell Medal several honorary doctorates
Position held	creative director (Mariposa Folk Festival, 1970–1976)

Alanis Obomsawin (born August 31, 1932) is an amazing Abenaki filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist. She is best known for her documentary films. These films often share important stories about First Nations people.

Alanis was born in the New Hampshire, United States. She grew up mostly in Quebec, Canada. She has written and directed many films for the National Film Board of Canada. She wants her films to help Indigenous people share their voices. She believes it's important to show the beauty and strength of their culture. Her most famous film is Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance. It tells the story of the 1990 Oka Crisis in Quebec.

Early Life and Beginnings

Growing Up in Odanak

Alanis Obomsawin's name means "pathfinder." She was born on August 31, 1932, near Lebanon, New Hampshire. When she was just six months old, her family moved back to the Odanak reserve. This reserve is near Sorel, Quebec. She lived there until she was seven years old.

Her mother ran a boarding house. Her father was a medicine maker and a guide. Alanis learned many songs and legends from her mother's cousin, Théophile Panadis. He taught her about the history of the Abenaki Nation.

Moving to Trois-Rivières

When Alanis was nine, her family moved to Trois-Rivières. They were the only Native family there. She spoke little French and no English at the time. She held onto the songs and stories she learned on the reserve. Her father passed away when she was twelve.

Finding Her Voice

At 22, Alanis left the reserve. She spent two years in Florida and learned English. In the late 1950s, she moved back to Montreal. She started performing as a singer and storyteller. She shared her music and stories in prisons, schools, and at music festivals. In 1960, she performed her first concert in New York City.

Her Amazing Career

Singer and Songwriter

Alanis Obomsawin started her music career in New York City in 1960. She traveled across Canada, the United States, and Europe. She performed for important causes at universities, museums, and art centers. She also sang at folk art festivals.

She even managed her own stage at the Mariposa Folk Festival in the 1960s. In 1988, she released an album called Bush Lady. It had traditional Abenaki songs and her own music. This album was re-released in 2018.

Filmmaker and Educator

Alanis's journey into filmmaking began in a unique way. In the mid-1960s, she held concerts to raise money for a swimming pool in Odanak. Children in her community couldn't swim in the local river anymore. They also weren't allowed to use a pool in a nearby town because it was only for white residents.

Her efforts to raise money were featured on a TV show called Telescope. Producers from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) saw her interview. They invited her to be an advisor on a film about Indigenous people. This led her to direct her own films.

Her first documentary for the NFB was Christmas at Moose Factory in 1971. By 2017, she had directed 50 films with the NFB! Her film Our People Will Be Healed premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It is about an education center in Norway House Cree Nation.

Documenting the Oka Crisis

Alanis made a whole series of films about the 1990 Oka crisis. This was a big event in Quebec.

• Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993) was her first film about the crisis. It's a feature-length film that won 18 international awards.
• My Name is Kahentiiosta (1995) is about a young Kahnawake woman arrested during the standoff.
• Spudwrench – Kahnawake Man (1997) tells the story of Randy Horne, a high-steel worker from the Kahnawake community.
• Rocks at Whiskey Trench (2000) was her fourth film in this series.

Other Important Films

Alanis has made many other powerful documentaries:

• Gene Boy Came Home is about Eugene Benedict, an Indigenous Vietnam War veteran.
• Is the Crown at war with us? (2002) looks at a conflict over fishing rights in New Brunswick.
• Our Nationhood (2003) shows how the Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation works to manage their traditional lands.
• Sigwan (2005) is a short drama about a young girl helped by forest animals.
• Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006) explores stories from her home reserve of Odanak.
• Professor Norman Cornett: "Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?" (2009) is about a professor from McGill University.
• When All the Leaves Are Gone (2010) is a short drama about her own experiences in public school.
• The People of the Kattawapiskak River (2012) focuses on a housing crisis in the Attawapiskat First Nation.
• Hi-Ho Mistahey! (2013) is about Shannen Koostachin, a young First Nations education activist.
• Trick or Treaty? (2014) was the first film by an Indigenous filmmaker to be shown in a special program at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice (2016) explores a human rights complaint about discrimination against First Nation children.
• Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger (2019) won the Best Canadian Documentary Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
• Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair (2021) and Bill Reid Remembers (2022) are some of her more recent works.

Alanis also taught at the Summer Institute of Film and Television in Ottawa.

Engraver and Print-Maker

For over 25 years, Alanis Obomsawin has also been an amazing engraver and printmaker. Her art has been shown in Canada and Europe. She often features mothers and children in her work. She also combines her dreams with animal spirits and historical events.

Awards and Recognition

Alanis Obomsawin has received many awards and honors for her incredible work.

• In 2006, she won the Alanis Obomsawin Award for Best Documentary for Waban-aki: People from Where the Sun Rises.
• In 2008, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City showed a special collection of her films.
• That same year, she received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. This is Canada's highest honor in performing arts.
• In 2009, she received the Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award.
• She was named to the Playback Canadian Film & Television Hall of Fame in 2010.
• In 2013, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She also received the Humanitarian Award for her contributions to community service.
• She received a lifetime achievement award from Chile's Valdivia International Film Festival in 2015.
• In 2016, she received the Clyde Gilmour Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association. They called her "a significant architect of Canadian cinema and culture."
• She also received the prix Albert-Tessier and was named a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2016.
• In 2019, she was named a Companion of the Order of Canada.
• In 2020, she received the Glenn Gould Prize. This award recognized her artistic work and activism for Indigenous peoples.
• She also received the Iris Tribute for her lifetime work at the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards.
• In 2021, she received a Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
• In 2023, she received the Edward MacDowell Medal. She is the first Indigenous person to receive this award.

Exhibitions of Her Work

Her work has been featured in special exhibitions:

• From February to April 2022, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Germany held an exhibition called The Children Have to Hear Another Story – Alanis Obomsawin.
• From April to August 2023, the Vancouver Art Gallery held the same exhibition.

Awards Named After Her

Alanis Obomsawin's impact is so great that two awards have been named in her honor:

• The "Alanis Obomsawin Award for Commitment to Community and Resistance" is given by Cinema Politica.
• The "Alanis Obomsawin Best Documentary Award" is presented every year by the ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

Filmography