Tasha Hubbard facts for kids

Tasha Hubbard is a talented filmmaker and teacher from Canada. She is a First Nations/Cree woman who lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Tasha has made several important documentaries with the National Film Board of Canada. These films explore the rights and experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Her films include Two Worlds Colliding (2004), a short film that won a Canada Award. She also made Birth of a Family (2017), a longer film about four siblings who were separated. Another key film is nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (2019). This film won awards at the Hot Docs and DOXA Documentary Festivals. It looks at the story of a young Cree man named Colten Boushie.

Tasha's Family Story

Tasha Hubbard was born in 1973, and her birth name was Carrie Alaine Pinay. Her biological mother was a young Saulteaux/Métis/Cree woman. Tasha's parents and grandparents, along with her Cree/Nakota father, had been forced to attend residential schools. These schools caused a lot of harm to Indigenous families.

Because her mother had little support, Tasha was adopted through a special project. This project was part of the Sixties Scoop. The Sixties Scoop was a time when many Indigenous children were taken from their families and adopted by non-Indigenous families.

Tasha grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan with her adoptive parents. They were very supportive when she wanted to find her birth family. When Tasha was 14, her adoptive mother asked if she wanted to search. After almost two years, they hired a Cree lawyer. This lawyer found Tasha's birth mother in just two weeks. It turned out her birth mother was a friend of her biological father.

Tasha met her birth mother shortly after her sixteenth birthday. She met her father a few weeks later. Over time, she reunited with all ten of her siblings. She met her last sister when she was twenty-two years old.

Tasha Hubbard's Films

Tasha Hubbard uses her films to share important stories. She often focuses on Indigenous experiences and justice.

Two Worlds Colliding (2004)

Two Worlds Colliding is a documentary from 2004. It tells the story of Darrell Night, an Indigenous man. Police left him in a cold field outside Saskatoon in January 2000. The film looks into similar events where Indigenous people were left in dangerous conditions. It also explores the deep mistrust between Indigenous communities and the police in Saskatchewan.

This film first showed at the ImagineNATIVE festival in 2004. It won a Gemini Canada Award. It also received the Golden Sheaf Award for Aboriginal films at the 2005 Yorkton Film Festival.

"7 Minutes" (2016)

This is a short documentary film. It won the Golden Sheaf Award for Short Subject (Non-Fiction) at the 2016 Yorkton Film Festival.

Birth of a Family (2017)

Tasha Hubbard's own adoption story helped her decide to make Birth of a Family. This film is about four First Nations siblings who were separated during the Sixties Scoop. The film shows their reunion. One of the siblings, Betty Ann Adam, is a journalist. She also helped write the film.

Betty Ann was encouraged to document her reunion by Marie Wilson. Marie was a commissioner with Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This commission studied the history and impacts of residential schools. Betty Ann had known Tasha for over ten years and asked her to make the film.

Birth of a Family was nominated at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2017. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2017 EIFF. It also received a Special Jury Prize at the 18th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (2019)

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up is a 2019 documentary. It shares Tasha Hubbard's personal thoughts on the death of Colten Boushie. Colten was a young Cree man. The film follows the court case that followed his death. It also shows the shock and anger felt across Canada after the trial.

While following the case, Tasha highlights unfairness in the Canadian legal system. She also talks about the history of colonialism and anti-Indigenous racism in Canada.

This film won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award at Toronto's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. It also won the Colin Low Award for Canadian Documentary at Vancouver's DOXA Documentary Film Festival. In 2020, it received the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Multicultural film at the Yorkton Film Festival.

Singing Back the Buffalo (2024)

Singing Back the Buffalo is a documentary released in 2024. It follows Indigenous leaders and communities. They are working to bring buffalo back to the North American plains. This effort is important for Indigenous nations, the environment, and the future.

The film received the Nigel Moore Award at the 2024 DOXA Documentary Film Festival. It also won the Audience Award for Documentaries at the 2024 Calgary International Film Festival. It received an honorable mention for Best Canadian Documentary as well.

Meadowlarks (2025)

In 2024, Tasha Hubbard started making a new film called Meadowlarks. This film is a fictional story based on her documentary Birth of a Family. Meadowlarks is expected to be shown for the first time at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.