A new documentary film on Indigenous peoplesSA国际影视传媒� experiences with medical care challenges CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 reputation as a shining example of public health-care.
The Unforgotten, a free, 35 minute, online documentary tells stories about health through the five stages of life: birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and Elderhood. Long-time Yellowknife doctor Ewan Affleck was the executive producer of the film.
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Each stage focuses on how CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 institutions failed to meet the needs of Indigenous peoplesSA国际影视传媒� health, or even attempted to destroy them.
SA国际影视传媒淏irthSA国际影视传媒� tells the history of sterilization of Indigenous women in Canadian history, using newspaper clippings from most of the 20th century reporting that officials and some doctors advocated sterilization.
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 narrated by Morningstar Mercredi, a Dene-Metis woman in Edmonton who survived forced sterilization.
SA国际影视传媒淐hildhoodSA国际影视传媒� centres on Sonny James MacDonald, a renowned carver originally from Fort Chipewyan, Alta. and who lived in Hay River and Fort Smith.
MacDonald speaks about being sent to Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton as a boy after he caught tuberculosis, and his experiences of abuse there.
MacDonald died on April 20, 2021.
RELATED REPORTING: Obituary
Charles Camsell is among 29 SA国际影视传媒淚ndian hospitalsSA国际影视传媒� named in a $1.1 billion class action lawsuit launched in January 2018 on behalf of former patients who say they were abused in the hospitals.
RELATED REPORTING: Her grandfather was buried in an unmarked grave. SheSA国际影视传媒檚 seeking closure SA国际影视传媒� and accountability
SA国际影视传媒淎dolescenceSA国际影视传媒� takes place in Nunavut and is narrated by a young Inuit woman and the voice of her grandmother speaking in Inuktitut.
Through subtitles, the grandmother recounts stories of police killing sled dogs and Inuit forced to leave their traditional camps for modern schools.
A grim statistic is displayed on the high suicide rate among Inuit, which according to Statistics Canada is nine times higher than it is for non-Indigenous Canadians, according to a report released in 2019.
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SA国际影视传媒淎dulthoodSA国际影视传媒� follows the progress of artist Stephen Gladue as he works on an enormous mural in downtown Winnipeg.
The mural depicts Brian Sinclair, a 45 year-old Indigenous man who went to the emergency room with a treatable condition in 2008 but who died after 34 hours of staff neglecting to give him proper care.
Although an inquest was conducted into his death, SinclairSA国际影视传媒檚 family was frustrated by its conclusions because they said it ignored the role of racism in the health care systems, CBC reported.
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SA国际影视传媒淓lderhoodSA国际影视传媒� focuses on the late Stella Blackbird and her Medicine Eagle Camp at the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba.
Blackbird uses the gathering of traditional herbs and plants as a pathway to healing from the trauma she experienced as a child at residential school.
Other campers describe the connections made with nature and with Blackbird as they join her in gathering and learning about the medicinal benefits of the herbs. Blackbird died on June 27, 2020. She was 82.
Dr. Affleck admits that members of the medical community rarely venture into filmmaking.
But the film was something Affleck had wanted to do for many years as a way to spur positive change in the health care system, which he said is SA国际影视传媒渜uite dysfunctional.SA国际影视传媒�
In the first 10 years of his 30 year career he worked with Inuit communities in northern Quebec and Anishnaabe people in northwestern Ontario. He has lived in Yellowknife for 20 years.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think I bought into a mythology about Canada, that weSA国际影视传媒檙e the land of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and all citizens are treated equally and we have the best health care system in the world,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 headed off to work in that system, only to discover a much darker history. When I started out it wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 talked about. But for Indigenous peoplesSA国际影视传媒hose stories are well-known.SA国际影视传媒�
Over the years, he gradually came to understand the inequities in the health care system and the historical reasons for them.
The film became a way for him to step outside the system and try to bring about change through art and storytelling.
When he started the film project four years ago and helped assemble the team who eventually made it, he said there was a SA国际影视传媒渄eep well of desireSA国际影视传媒� to address Indigenous peoplesSA国际影视传媒� experiences with the health care system and the historical connections.
SA国际影视传媒淎s doctors we take the Hippocratic oath: do no harm. But if things arenSA国际影视传媒檛 good, do you remain silent? I donSA国际影视传媒檛 think you can. Even if itSA国际影视传媒檚 a little scary, if you tread lightly and listen, then there is a place for us all. Either ignore the problem or go to a scary place.SA国际影视传媒�
Adding to The UnforgottenSA国际影视传媒檚 uncommon development path, the film was fully funded by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).
Dr. Alika Lafontaine, the first Indigenous president-election of the CMA said itSA国际影视传媒檚 SA国际影视传媒渞eally novelSA国际影视传媒� the organization would support such a film.
SA国际影视传媒淚t probably reflects the evolution of how we impact system change in health,SA国际影视传媒� the Cree-Anishinaabe doctor said over the phone from Grand Prairie, Alta.
SA国际影视传媒淭heySA国际影视传媒檙e recognizing that the future of changing medicine is ensuring that we become as authentic as we can be with the lived experiences of people in the health care system.SA国际影视传媒�
Lafontaine worked with The Unforgotten as senior project advisor, or as a SA国际影视传媒渟ounding board for ideasSA国际影视传媒� and providing feedback, as he described it. He already knew Affleck before the film idea came up and the two had discussed the experiences of Indigenous patients in health care.
Lafontaine believes the impact of the film could mirror what happened after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)SA国际影视传媒檚 final report was released in 2015.
There was push back at first, and some questioned the veracity of the stories in the report, while other stories were suppressed, he said.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think the film is part of that cycle where you share, normalize and unpack the experiences. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 been said many times that truth comes before reconciliation. I think the starting point lies in that truth. I think the health care system isnSA国际影视传媒檛 well-designed to deal with criticism or harm that happens to patients. But I would say that many things that create harm leads to opportunities for voluntary change where we can have big impacts.SA国际影视传媒�
Acclaimed Yellowknife singer-songwriter Leela Gilday worked as the music director of the film and curated and licensed all of its music, the first time she had worked in a supervisory role for a movie.
She worked to ensure that music created by Indigenous musicians was featured and that it was regionally-appropriate to the diverse settings in The Unforgotten.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 been personal because as an Indigenous person everybody has been touched by this by the real history of the health care system,SA国际影视传媒� Gilday said. SA国际影视传媒淚 really believe in the importance of these films as opening a conversation. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of awareness about residential schools in the general public (but) I donSA国际影视传媒檛 think people know about many of these things that happened like the sterilization and the dog slaughter.SA国际影视传媒�
