Women in the Shadows

A young Ojibwa girl of 1770, Ikwe awakens one night from a disturbing dream about a strange man. The arrival of a young Scottish fur trader transforms her dream into reality. Marrying him, Ikwe leaves her village on the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union promises prosperity for her tribe, it means hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of Ikwe's dream unfold with tragic clarity. Part one of the series entitled Daughters of the Country.

For half of a millennium, Indigenous women have been at the forefront of their peoples' resistance to cultural assimilation. Today, they are still fighting for the survival of their cultures and their peoples--in the rain forest and the city, in the courts and the legislatures, in the Longhouse and the media. Keepers of the Fire profiles Indigenous 'warrior women' in Canada who are protecting and defending their land, their culture and their people in the time-honoured tradition of their foremothers.

During the winter since times predating agriculture, the Cree of Mistassini have gone to the bush of the James and Ungava Bay area to hunt. Three hunting families agreed to meet an NFB crew, who filmed the building of the winter camp, the hunting, the relationship to the land, and the rhythms of Cree family life. This sensitive film expresses Cree beliefs and the ecological principles that are the foundation of their lives.