British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Club Native

Synopsis
In Kahnawake, the hometown of Mohawk director Tracey Deer (Mohawk Girls), there are two unspoken rules: Don’t marry a non-Native, and never, ever have a child with a non-Native. In a community where tribal membership rests on the equivocal measurement of blood quantum (literally the measurement of blood "purity"), following one’s heart requires risking one’s Mohawk status, as well as one’s family and community.

With warmth, intelligence and humor, Deer turns her camera on her own family and the lives of four proud Mohawk women deeply impacted by racism and prejudice rooted in Canada’s highly discriminatory 1876 Indian Act, and exacerbated by lingering preconceptions about blood quantum that have left a divisive legacy in her community.

Club Native raises critical questions about belonging and idigenity, the heartbreak of "marrying out" of the Mohawk Nation, and the unjust patriarchal laws that disenfranchise Native women. It is a candid and engrossing work about the pain, confusion, and frustration suffered by many First Nations women, but also a testament to the triumph of love and the resilience of the human spirit. The official website can be accessed at: http://films.nfb.ca/club-native/
Language
English
Country
United States
Year of release
2009
Subjects
Anthropology; Women’s studies
Keywords
caste system; Indians of North & South America; marriage customs; racial identity

Credits

Director
Tracey Deer
Writer
Tracey Deer

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 0 NTSC
Price
$295.00 (institutional rate);
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
78 minutes
Year
2009

Production Company

Name

National Film Board of Canada

Email
customerservice@nfb.ca
Web
http://www.nfb.ca External site opens in new window
Phone
(514) 283 9000
Fax
(514) 283-7564
Address
Sales and Customer Service (D-10)
PO Box 6100
Station Centre-Ville
Montreal
QC H3C 3HS
Canada

Distributor

Name

Women Make Movies Inc

Email
info@wmm.com
Web
http://www.wmm.com External site opens in new window
Phone
+1 212 925 0606
Fax
+1 212 925 2052
Address
462 Broadway
Suite 500WS (at Grand Street)
New York
NY 10013
USA
Notes
US company distributing independent films by and about women. The collection consists of more than 500 documentary, experimental, animation, dramatic and mixed-genre titles. The films and videotapes represent a diversity of styles, subjects and perspectives in women’s lives.

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