'Sugarcane', a groundbreaking documentary that has received an Oscar nomination, sheds light on the systemic abuse experienced by Indigenous children at a state-funded residential school in Canada. The film exposes a pattern of infanticide and the births of babies to Indigenous girls fathered by priests, sparking a movement for truth and accountability.
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie , the co-directors of the Oscar-nominated documentary film 'Sugarcane,' have painted a harrowing picture of systemic abuse inflicted by a state-funded school in Canada . The film exposes a disturbing pattern of infanticide and the births of babies to Indigenous girls fathered by priests.
'Sugarcane' has garnered significant attention, screening at prestigious venues like the White House, the Canadian Parliament, and numerous indigenous communities across North America. It has ignited a grassroots movement and compelled a reckoning to uncover the truth about the other schools. Notably, it marks the first time an Indigenous North American filmmaker has received an Oscar nomination. The documentary delves into the dark history of Canada's residential schools, which aimed to assimilate Indigenous children into Canadian society. These children were forcibly converted to Christianity and prohibited from speaking their native languages. Many endured physical and verbal abuse, with estimates suggesting that up to 6,000 died within these institutions. Approximately three-quarters of the 130 residential schools were operated by Roman Catholic missionary congregations. This practice mirrored similar facilities in the United States, where Catholic and Protestant denominations ran over 150 boarding schools between the 19th and 20th centuries, also marred by reports of widespread abuse.Kassie, an investigative journalist and documentarian, had spent a decade focusing on human rights abuses globally, from Afghanistan to Niger, but she felt compelled to address the issue in her own country when news broke about unmarked graves. She teamed up with NoiseCat, a friend from their cub reporter days in New York who had become a prominent writer and journalist specializing in Indigenous life in North America. Together, they focused on St. Joseph's Mission near the Sugarcane Reservation of Williams Lake in British Columbia, a school connected to NoiseCat's family history.
Indigenous Rights Human Rights Documentary 'Sugarcane' Residential Schools Canada Indigenous Rights Abuse Infanticide Oscar Nomination Julian Brave Noisecat Emily Kassie
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