This Truth and Reconciliation Day, watch Indigenous-led projects

On the TELUS Local Content team, we want to acknowledge the continued need to see Indigenous representation on screen. Amplifying Indigenous voices today and every day is of utmost importance at STORYHIVE and TELUS originals. It is embedded in our core values to foster an inclusive environment of respect, connection, diversity of ideas, voices and perspectives. 

Today on National Truth & Reconciliation Day, we are spotlighting 8 Indigenous-led projects from STORYHIVE and TELUS originals. Explore films and series by Indigenous filmmakers and storytellers from British Columbia and Alberta that centre on Indigenous voices and experiences.

Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun (TELUS originals) 

Banchi Hanuse | Vancouver, B.C.

A thrilling portrait of a young Siksika woman and the deep bonds between her father and family in the golden plains of Blackfoot Territory in Alberta as she prepares for one of the most dangerous horse races in the world…on bareback. 

Watch at the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival until October 9: https://viff.org/whats-on/ignite23-before-the-sun/  

Drawing Wisdom (STORYHIVE Voices) 

Jada-Gabrielle Pape | Vancouver, B.C. 

With her wise guests, WuWas, Jada-Gabrielle Pape, Saanich & Snuneymuxw Nations, looks deeply at Indigenous storytelling, across generations, with topics ranging from trees to beading, from spirit to our inherent "D AND A" (Descendants & Ancestors).

Finishing What My Mother Started (STORYHIVE Voices) 

Donald Langkamp | Edmonton, Alberta 

A 71-year-old Indigenous Dene Thá woman living in Edmonton for 47 years married to a non-indigenous husband and now a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Gladys ("Nikeeya" her native name) returns to Chateh (a small reserve in northern Alberta) and discovers a stack of moose hides her mother had scraped (but not tanned) prior to her passing 14 years ago. She decides it is her duty, in honour of her memory, to finish those hides the traditional, Dene way.

Local Lives (STORYHIVE Summer Crew) 

Rebecca Rooney & Braden Kadlun Johnston | Calgary & Lloydminster 

https://storyhive-summercrews.vidflex.tv/en/channel/calgary-3-lloydminster.1584

Local Lives bring a unique locally reflective perspective on the community life of Calgary and Lloydminster. They accomplish this by sharing the stories of various Indigenous businesses, artists and storytellers. 

Modern Métis Canada (STORYHIVE Voices) 

Holly Anghel | Calgary, Alberta 

Join local Chestermere Métis artist, Holly Anghel, as she explores the history of the Métis people.

Piita Aapasskaan: The Kyle Young Pine Story (TELUS originals) 

Brock Davis Mitchell | Calgary, Alberta

https://watch.telusoriginals.com/view/piita-aapasskaan

Kyle Young Pine grew up in Calgary, distant from his customs and traditions. Fancy Feather Dance brought him a deeper connection to his ancestors and his truest self.

The Crying Fields (STORYHIVE Edition) 

Hayley Morin | Edmonton, Alberta 

A discovery on a small reservation in Alberta reveals the truth behind a 70-year-old lie that has changed the community and its people forever.

The Swimmers (STORYHIVE Edition) 

Bev Sellars | Kamloops, B.C. 

To Indigenous people, salmon is the Spirit that Swims. A spirit that is dying. Urgent change is necessary to protect the Swimmers’ habitats from pollution and greed, before it is too late.

To continue watching, watch Indigenous-led projects on TELUS Optik TV Channel 126, find our STORYHIVE YouTube playlist spotlighting Indigenous Stories and filmmakers here and TELUS original films on watch.telusoriginals.com. 

Join us for our upcoming Filmmaker Talk 

On October 11, join us for a powerful Filmmaker Talk: Reshaping Representations of Indigenous Peoples in the Media with award-winning Cree filmmakers Tasha Hubbard and Jules Koostachin, and hosted by Jade Tootoosis. Co-presented by TELUS originals and the University of Alberta’s Native Studies.

Register for the talk here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MdD4ggOTS6OY9ny2CD5R4A

Thank you to our TELUS Optik TV customers. With your support, TELUS Local Content has distributed over $6.2 million of community programming funds to Indigenous content creators, filmmakers and storytellers across British Columbia and Alberta since 2018. TELUS Local Content funds locally reflective content. This is done through two funding portfolios — TELUS STORYHIVE and TELUS originals. 

TELUS Local Content acknowledges that the area in which our staff predominantly gather and work is within the unceded Indigenous territories belonging to the sḵwx̱w 7mesh (Squamish), sel̓l̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. We acknowledge that many Indigenous communities and cultures survive on the land where we work, live, and play. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have been deeply harmed by Canada's past and present colonial institutions, and we will strive to understand our individual place within this painful history. In our work together, we will take conscious steps to include Indigenous people in decision-making processes and address structural inequities in the Canadian screen-based production sector.