''Sleeping Children Awake'' is a Canadian

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

video outlining the history of the

residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

and its effect on generations of

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

’ people. The video was first released in 1992, to a premiere theatrical screening and broadcast on

Thunder Bay Television Dougall Media is a Canadian media company which has several television, radio and publishing holdings in Northwestern Ontario. Television Dougall Media owns CKPR, a CTV affiliate (formerly a CBC affiliate until August 31, 2014), and CHFD, a G ...

. The documentary has a running time of 50 minutes and 50 seconds. It was produced and directed by the independent filmmaker Rhonda Kara Hanah.

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

and Thunder Bay Television funded the documentary. Hanah used her own resources to begin work on the production, until the financing from Lakehead and Thunder Bay Television was established. After its release, the video won a number of awards for its portrayal of the residential school system. The documentary was recognized for its role in combatting racism and religious intolerance.

Background

Residential Schools operated in Canada from the 1800s until 1996. These schools were said to be a primary weapon of the government and the missionaries in their attempt to systematically destroy

Native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

culture. Generations of

people were scarred from the effects of their policies. While

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

s for First Nations,

Metis Metis or Métis, meaning "mixed" in French, may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peopl ...

and

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

children always far outnumbered residential schools, a new consensus emerged in the early twenty-first century that the latter schools did significant harm to Aboriginal children who attended them by removing them from their families and depriving them of their ancestral languages and cultural practises. Many of the students suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of staff and other students. When the video was made, there was very little discussion about the crucial subject of residential schools either in the education system, or in the

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

. This controversial subject did not seem to be part of the

collective consciousness Collective consciousness, collective conscience, or collective conscious () is the set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.''Collins Dictionary of Sociology'', p93. In general, it doe ...

at that time. Hanah was quoted saying that she had no awareness of any books or films on the subject when she made the documentary. Prior to recording the video, Hanah had heard

Shirley Cheechoo Shirley Cheechoo (; born 1952) is a Canadian Cree actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist, best known for her solo-voice or monodrama play '' Path With No Moccasins'', as well as her work with De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig theatre group. Her ...

read a poem she had written about her experiences in the residential schools. The poem moved Hanah to promise Cheechoo that in an effort to create greater awareness of the residential schools legacy, she would do anything in her power to help Cheechoo get her story out. As such, her intention was to further the subject into general awareness and in the public forum to begin further examination and exposure. Also in following the acts of Cheechoo’s 1991 autobiographical play, ''Path with No Moccasins'', Hanah hoped to reinforce the healing that comes from exposing these stories. ''Sleeping Children Awake'' was one of the earliest independent feature documentaries to be broadcast about the history of the residential school system. The subject had received little coverage up to this point, and the experiences of the people who attended the schools had rarely been documented.

Production and summary

''Sleeping Children Awake'' is both a personal record of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

’s history and a tribute to the enduring strength of Native cultures.

Phil Fontaine Larry Phillip Fontaine, (born September 20, 1944) is an Indigenous Canadian leader and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He best known for his central role in raising public awareness of the Canadian Indian residential sc ...

, then Grand Chief of the

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (, AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations ( Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood ...

and a residential school survivor, was quoted at the opening of the video stating that "first step in healing is disclosure." This opening quote was intended to establish the theme and purpose of the documentary. The video features a number of First Nations leaders, including Art Solomon and

Elijah Harper Elijah Harper (March 3, 1949 – May 17, 2013) was a Canadian Oji-Cree politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (MLA) from 1981 to 1992 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1997. Harper was elected chi ...

. Solomon shares stories that he heard during his many years working intimately with aboriginal people. These stories are used throughout the video, along with many other personal memories of residential school survivors. These recollections are set alongside dramatic excerpts from

’s 1991 autobiographical play, ''Path with No Moccasins''. The play demonstrates Cheechoo's experiences within the schools, the subsequent destructive lifestyle that resulted, and her path to healing. The documentary features the music of R. Carlos Nakai, sacred songs from Maria Linklater, and the artwork of various accomplished artists.

Reception

The documentary video received a number of awards and positive reviews. There have been two public screenings, the first premiere in 1992 and a second in November 2008. It was also screened at the first of national event of the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC; []) was a truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The commission was offi ...

(TRCC) held in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

in 2010 and again at their event in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in 2012. ''Sleeping Children Awake'' has been broadcast on CTV,

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

and

TV Ontario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station ...

, and has been used within

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s, and

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. It has long been in use in private social work/ therapy with residential school survivors. In this capacity it is used to initiate the difficult subject and ease the audience into feeling more comfortable sharing their own experiences. The film examines first and foremost the personal experience of First Nations students in residential schools, and that of the families and communities from which they were torn. It also touches on the intergenerational affects resulting from this policy. The wider conclusions to be drawn from such experiences are left largely to the audience. Conversely, this treatment illuminates all the more starkly the political and social implications of residential schools.

Awards

* Dreamspeakers International Film Festival: An International Aboriginal Culture, Arts and Film Festival Award of Recognition, Edmonton, Alberta 1994 *

American Indian Film Festival The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated solely to Native American/First Nations films and prepared the way for the 1979 formati ...

: Selected for Screening San Francisco, California 1993 * Can Pro Award: Best Canadian Documentary 1993 * Canadian Association of Broadcasting: Gold Ribbon Award Finalist in Public Affairs 1993 *

Iris Award The NATPE Iris Awards is an honor for local television programming presented annually in the United States by the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). The awards were first introduced in 1968 and were initially titled ...

s: Finalist - Combating Racism / Religious Intolerance 1993 *

: Certificate of Acknowledgement & Selected for Screening at National Events, Manitoba 2010 & Saskatchewan 2012

References

External links