Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising
(Canada, 90 mins.)
Dir. Shane Belcourt
Programme: TIFF Docs
For a period in Canadian history, Louie Cameron, leader of the Ojibway Warrior Society, was one of the most wanted men in the country. He was labelled a terrorist by the media and government officials, but the most radical thing he did was open the closed eyes of a nation to the continual mistreatment of Indigenous communities.
As Shane Belcourt’s riveting documentary Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising details, one merely needs to go to Kenora, Ontario to experience the longstanding racism weaved into the colonial fabric of the country. Like a historical blueprint placed behind irremovable class, the northwestern region of Ontario is a living example of Canada’s numerous sins inflicted on First Nations people. Kenora not only had the highest concentration of residential schools, but a deep level of segregation that had physical, emotional, and environmental ramifications for the Indigenous community that still reverberate loudly today.
Kenora may have featured a high Indigenous population, but they were frequently treated like second class citizens who could be abused and discarded. Denied work opportunities, unable to rent hotel rooms overnight, and warned against entering certain restaurants, they became the literal punching bags for the white folks who considered themselves to be “Indian Hunters” and/or “Kenora Indian Beaters.” Individuals who took glee in getting drunk and seeking out Indigenous people to assault.
An occurrence as regular as starting one’s day with a warm cup of coffee, Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising highlights that the physical brutality of Indigenous bodies was commonplace in Kenora—a microcosm for a history of violence across Canada. Whether it was at the hands of average citizens or the police, who constantly abused their authority, government officials routinely turned a blind eye to the high number of First Nations people who were winding up dead. This was far from the only abuse endured as there was also the issue of mercury, from a local mill, contaminating the drinking water and killed the fishing industry for Indigenous communities.
It was this untenable mixture of inequities that led Cameron and others to occupy Kenora’s Anicinabe Park for 38 days in 1974. Inspired by the work of the American Indian Movement in the United States, and frustrated by how their land was increasingly disappearing via illegal government sales, a group of 150 protesters were determined to raise awareness of the societal conditions the were forced to live in. Their goal was to get the attention of the Canadian government but ended igniting a political fire for change across the land in the process.
Despite only having eight minutes of archival footage of the Anicinabe Park protest to work with, Belcourt’s compelling documentary vividly brings audiences into the tense standoff. Utilizing interviews with those who participated in the occupation, news clippings, and Cameron’s own unpublished manuscript read in voiceover by his son Tyler, the film paints a vibrant portrait of a crucial period in Canadian history. Each brush stroke captures not only the legacy of injustice against Indigenous people, but also the deep emotional scars that do not easily heal.
Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising pulls the blinders up to reveal how those who make the rules and laws in the land rarely abide by them. As the audience observes in the film, the Anicinabe Park incident, which ended via peaceful negotiation, could have easily turned deadly as both the police and locals were eager to inflict violence on protesters. While the other marches and protest that Cameron and others partook in did not have the same level of resolution, each one highlighted the daily struggles that come with being Indigenous in Canada.
Even a man like Cameron, who helped to lead the youth-infused movement for change, could not escape the traumas from his time at residential school that haunted him. His selfless work to better his community exemplified his heroism, but he sadly was not celebrated like one by the public at large. As is the case with most influential activists, he was demonized by the white population in Kenora and the media across Canada.
Rightfully giving Cameron and the other protesters the praise they deserve, Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising is a moving celebration of the unbreakable nature of the Indigenous spirit. Belcourt’s film highlights why it is important to keep these stories, and those who lived to tell it, at the forefront of Canada’s history.
Tyler Cameron notes in the film, racism in Canada is deemed non-existent when those impacted remain silent. Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising is a powerful reminder that Indigenous communities will remain vocal about it the inequality and inequity they face, and we should too.
