This documentary will celebrate the First Nations people’s will and strength while witnessing the current predicament in which they find themselves. Set on the Attawapiskat First Nation community, this documentary follows this Indian reservation, its current third world conditions, and the heroes of the community working at creating awareness and change. We explore the negative and positive effects that their physical proximity to western civilization has had on their lifestyles, specifically the installation of the DeBeers mining company on their territory.

Being such a young country drives us, as a collective, towards learning more about our history, towards defining ourselves as a compassionate society, towards making things right and just for all who chose to live in our great country and those who were here before us that call Canada home. This documentary will reveal the fact that presently many of our First Nations people live in third world conditions(1) and that without Canada’s collective enlightenment our people will continue to suffer these conditions. As we are currently experiencing, there are great social and economical repercussions when we ignore these types of issues. It is time for hope, it is time to build, it is time to care for all of the people of Canada.

Native communities provide their inhabitants with a sense of belonging, and a rich history and pride in their culture and language. The James Bay Treaty, Treaty no. 9 was portrayed to the inhabitants of the land as a means of protecting their land and culture while being provided the adequacies of Western civilization. “The Indians were giving their faith and allegiance to the King, and for giving up their title to a large area of land of which they could make no use, they received benefits that served to balance anything they were given.”(2) Throughout the years many Canadians as well as governments, whether federal or provincial, have increasingly become aware that the situation of many First Nation reserves is anything but balanced. The standards of living to which most Canadians have become accustomed are not being met in many remote Native communities, such as Attawapiskat. In many cases the federal government has stepped in to “urbanize” the community only to retreat when the funds have run out. This has resulted in inadequate housing, sub standard water treatment facilities if any, challenging access to education, sub standard health care, and inaccessibility to other essentials that many Canadians would consider to be necessities.

The story of the plight facing our First Nations People must be told. We will produce a documentary on this subject through the voices of the people on the Attawapiskat reservation.

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(1)First Nations living conditions or quality of life ranks 63rd, or amongst Third World conditions, according to an Indian and Northern Affairs Canada study that applied First Nations-specific statistics to the Human Development Index created by the United Nations. - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), 1998. The Human Development Index examines per capita income, education levels and life expectancy to compare the world’s countries.

(2)Quote from “The James Bay Treaty - Treaty No. 9 (made in 1905 and 1906) and Adhesions made in 1929 and 1930” , Roger Duhamel, FRSC.