|
''Sleeping Children Awake'' is a Canadian feature length, documentary video outlining the history of the residential school system and its effect on generations of First Nations’ people. The video was first released in 1992, to a premiere theatrical screening and broadcast on Thunder Bay Television. 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 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.magicarrowproductions.com/fromheart.htm )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.locatetv.com/tv/from-the-heart/1396613 )〕 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.youviddy.com/video/-ryC74bbrEE/canada-apologizes-for-residential-school-system.html )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zkUKbAaff0&list=PLDAD3E294ED724DB8&index=1 )〕 ==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 culture. Generations of First Nations people were scarred from the effects of their policies. 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. This controversial subject did not seem to be part of the collective consciousness at that time. Hanah was quoted saying she had no awareness of any books or films on the subject when she made the documentary. 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 Shirley Cheechoo’s play, Hanah hoped to reinforce the healing that comes from exposing these stories. While day schools for First Nations, Metis and Inuit 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. They were also said to deprive them of their ancestral languages, and cultural practises. Many of the students were said to have suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of staff and other students. Phil Fontaine, then Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations 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. ''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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://magicarrowproductions.com/images/TRCC%20thank%20ltr.jpg )〕 The video features a number of First Nations leaders, including Art Solomon and Elijah Harper. Art 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 Shirley Cheechoo's autobiographical play "Path with No Moccasins". The play demonstrates Shirley's experiences within the schools, the subsequent destructive lifestyle that resulted, and her path to healing.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0154870/ )〕 Prior to the recording of the documentary, Hanah had heard Shirley Cheechoo read a poem she had written about her experiences in the residential schools. The moving poem led 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 Shirley get her story out. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sleeping Children Awake」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|