Trick or Treaty: Do the Rights Thing Film Series April 19th

Trick or Treaty?

Do the Rights Thing: Standing Up for Human Rights in History

April 19th

2 pm

Free (donations accepted)

Edmonton Public Library, Whitemud Crossing Branch (4211 106 Street NW)

This film was recently shown to great acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival and is directed by Alanis Abamsawin, one of the masters of Canadian cinema.  It unpacks the tangled history of the making of Treaty No. 9 in 1905, a treaty with First Nations in Northern Ontario. The claim is made that there is a vast disparity between the written text of the treaty and the various promises which were made to the First Nations' representatives, and which they clearly believed made up part of the agreement to cede their lands and resources. The film is set against the backdrop of a number of recent events - the Idle No More movement and other youth-oriented protests, including one on Parliament Hill in the winter of 2013. Legal, historical and cultural experts are interviewed, as are First Nations descendants of the signatories of the treaty.

Cree Elder and cultural advisor Gary Moostoos will be in attendance and following the showing will relate events in the film to his own experiences and to those of other First Nations peoples in Alberta. A general discussion with an opportunity to ask questions will then take place. Rob Normey, Constitutional and Aboriginal Law counsel, will introduce the film and Gary Moostoos.

This Film Series is held in partnership with Edmonton Public Library.