Did you know that the National Capital Region is home to the highest population of Inuit people in southern Canada? In honour of National Indigenous History Month, it's fitting that we bring you the Labrador Documentary Project, a series of short films celebrating Inuit culture and teaching history from the beautiful northeast coast of Canada.
The directors of these films - Heather Campbell, Holly Andersen, Jennie Williams, and Ossie Michelin - are also past participants and recent leaders of the Labrador Creative Arts Festival, the longest-running children's art festival in Canada.
57 minutes. In English and Inuktitut with English and French subtitles. Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada.
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Part oral history and part visual poem, Miss Campbell: Inuk Teacher is the story of Evelyn Campbell, a trailblazer for an Inuit-led educational system in the small community of Rigolet, Labrador.
In Hebron Relocation, Holly Andersen explores what makes a place a home as she learns more about her community’s connection to generations of displaced northern Labrador Inuit.
Nalujuk Night is an up close look at an exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, Labrador Inuit tradition. Every January 6th from the dark of the Nunatsiavut night, the Nalujuit appear on the sea ice. They walk on two legs, yet their faces are animalistic, skeletal, and otherworldly. Snow crunches underfoot as they approach their destination: the Inuit community of Nain. Despite the frights, Nalujuk Night is a beloved annual event, showing that sometimes it can be fun to be scared. Rarely witnessed outside of Nunatsiavut, this annual event is an exciting chance for Inuit, young and old, to prove their courage and come together as a community to celebrate culture and tradition.
An adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Evan’s Drum is a joyful visit to a family’s loving home, and an uplifting story of cultural pride. After generations of silence, the rhythm of the traditional Inuit drum has returned to Labrador, and seven-year-old Evan is part of the new generation that will keep its heartbeat strong.
