A long long time ago…Well, not that long ago, really. 

Natives were portrayed in movies and television as stoic, one-dimensional savages in buckskin. And even then, the roles of the “savages” were played by southern European-types in brown makeup and bad wigs. Aboriginals, Natives, Indians…ignored and abhorred by the entertainment establishment and the culture at large. 

A lot has changed in the past 30 years, especially in Canada where Aboriginals now produce and direct films, star in television programs, and have their own cable network. Something their cousins south of the border look at with awe.   

Director Susan Cardinal’s documentary, Dream Makers  takes the viewer on a journey of Natives in film from the era of John Ford to the Canadian television programs North of 60  and Corner Gas.  Hosted by award-winning actress Tantoo Cardinal, Dream Makers   interviews those in the trenches—the actors and directors who remember the bad old days like Gordon Tootoosis, August Schellenberg, Graham Green, and Jimmy Herman to the young guns like Nathaniel Arcand, Dakota House and Stacy Da Silva who are heralding in the new age. 

Looking at the black and white film clips are painfully racist by today’s standards. Starting with 1970's Little Big Man, Natives were finally humanized on screen and the casting doors slowly began opening for Aboriginal actors. That door creaked open a bit further in 1990’s Dances With Wolves,  but it was a long time coming. 

You can hear the frustration in the voices of the veteran actors talking about their youth when Indians weren’t allowed to vote in Canada (which didn’t happen until 1961) and were deemed “scummy” as Cardinal describes it. But this is no bitch-fest; there’s humor, there’s fortitude, and lastly optimism about the progress that’s been made and prospects for the future.   

“I want to be a part of a revolution, to be a revolutionary. We need to make Hollywood see us in a different light. We are born storytellers,” says actor Gerald Auger. Gordon Tootoosis concurs, “It’s up to us to influence Hollywood.” 

For anyone interested in film history, Aboriginal culture, or both, this documentary provides a solid introduction to the ugly past and the promising future of Native film. If there’s any complaint, it’s that in only 45 minutes you are left wanting more—Dream Makers  could easily be expanded into a multi-part series.  

But omissions aside, Dream Makers  hits the mark, and hits it head on. As Graham Greene concludes, “I don’t have to stand there and say ‘ugh’ and ‘how’ for peanuts anymore. I can go out there and really act.”  

…Go out there and really act… The stuff dreams are made of, after all.   

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Dream Makers was produced by Calgary-based Joe Media Group in association with  CHUM TV, APTN, Barber Lucia Productions, and the Aboriginal Film & Television Foundation. 

It has appeared on Canadian television and at film festivals including the First Nations Film & Video Festival in early November. We'll keep you updated where it will be screening in coming months as well as when DVDs will be available for purchase. 

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