Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises

Synopsis

The filmmaker returns to the village where she was raised to craft a lyrical account of her own people. After decades of tirelessly recording others’ stories, she focuses this film on her own home community in Odanak, Canada. It starts by weaving strands of family stories and traditional crafts such as basket making, canoe building and other artistic endeavors. Then gradually builds a story of an indigenous community struggling against federal marriage law, which has separated families and redefined how they can claim native status. It is a story of the struggle for the very future of the community as they work to keep their culture, home and language alive.