Circle of the Sun

Under a sweltering July sky, participants in the sacred Sundance ceremony go four days without food or water. At the end of the gruelling experience they will pierce the flesh of their chests in an offering to the Creator. The Sundance is a ritual long misunderstood, and once banned - but one that is now helping to bring personal and social healing to East Coast Indigenous communities. With The Sacred Sundance, Mi'kmaq director Brian J. Francis journeys into the traditions of North American Indigenous spirituality. The Sundance is new to the Mi'kmaq people of Eastern Canada, brought to them from the West by elder William Nevin of the Elsipogtog First Nation. This event marks a unique transmission of traditional culture from one First Nation to another. Nevin first dances for two of his children who were critically ill, and later to help heal his fractured community. Another man becomes involved in an effort to leave behind a life of alcohol and criminal activity, and to become a role model for his young family. A woman takes part in order to understand her identity and affirm her role as a North American Indigenous woman. For all of them, the Sundance is a link to the great warrior traditions of the past. The Sundance itself cannot be filmed, but through the preparations for the ceremony, and through the words of its participants, we are left with a deep understanding of the healing power it has brought to communities who did not traditionally practice it. The film offers a model for Indigenous people reclaiming their heritage and embracing traditions - and with them, hope for the future.

Windswept prairies, sloping coulees and stretches of open sky - this is the home of the Kainai Blood Nation, in the heart of southern Alberta. Filmmaker Loretta Sarah Todd takes viewers on a visually lush journey, exploring the significance of land, memory and knowledge in Kainai life. The catalyst for this expressionistic journey is the return of belongings of the Kainai, collected by Europeans during colonial times and kept in distant museums. As the community's elders examine the objects and share stories first-hand, they reveal how the rich threads of Kainai life thrive from one generation to the next. From their traditions and language to their sacred beliefs, this is a powerful continuum of culture that cannot be contained in a glass exhibit case. Stylistically blending sound, colour, light and words, this film explores the collective memory of the Kainai that resonates so deeply in their land and their storytelling traditions. Intertwining past, present and future, Kainayssini Imanistaisiwa: The People Go On is an eloquent testament to Kainai history, governance and existence.

The life and religion of the Longhouse People. The film shows a rain dance, a healing ceremony and the celebration in honour of a newly chosen chief.