Alanis Obomsawin

August 31, 1932, New Hampshire, USA


An Abenaki Indian, Alanis Obomsawin started off as a singer, writer and storyteller, seeking through her performances in North America and Europe to make known the history, culture and aspirations of her people.
In 1967, after being seen on television in Ron Kelly's profile Alanis (1965), she was invited by the National Film Board to act as a consultant on a film being shot in Manouan, and has divided her time between filmmaking and performing ever since.
In her early years at the NFB, she developed the multimedia kits Manowan and l'ilawat. Consisting of slide sets, filmstrips, posters, photographs and children's games, these kits evolved over time as a co-operative effort between Obomsawin and her people, creating a link between them and children in countless schools across Canada.
In 1971, she directed her first film, Christmas at Moose Factory, a study of life in a small Northern settlement based on children's drawings. This was followed in 1977 by Amisk and Mother of Many Children, both of which she adapted for Sounds from Our People, a six-part educational series she produced and directed for the CBC's Canadian School Telecasts.
Between 1977 and 1994, she made ten films and two vignettes illustrating different aspects of Aboriginal life. Committed to the cause of justice for her people, she documented two major confrontations, Incident at Restigouche (1984) and Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance. The latter film, about the Oka crisis in 1990, has won 13 awards and international acclaim, and was seen by 23 million TV viewers in Japan alone.
Her latest film, My name is Kahentiiosta, was released in 1995 and she is currently researching her next project. Obomsawin produces most of her films herself.
She has an enduring interest in education and a preference for working closely with people. In 1982, she taught a course on oral tradition as a guest of the Music Department at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She readily agrees to perform at schools, community halls and prisons, and frequently appears on television and at music festivals.
Obomsawin chaired the Board of Directors of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal for many years and sat on the Canada Council's First Peoples Advisory Board. She was also a board member of Studio One, the NFB's Aboriginal unit, and served as an advisor to New Initiatives in Film, Studio D's program for women of colour and First Nations women.
She has received a dozen awards and honours over the years, including the Order of Canada, the federal government's highest honour, in 1983. Her films have picked up more than 30 awards at international festivals.
As a mark of affection, her people call her Ko-li-la-wato - "someone who makes us very happy".

Mother of Many Children
A film by Alanis Obomsawin, 1977, 58 min., Color
Composed of a series of vignettes featuring Native women from different first nations, this classic work by Alanis Obomsawin, an Abenaki, reflects a p...

My Name is Kahentiiosta
A film by Alanis Obomsawin, 1995, 30 min., Color
This affecting film from acclaimed director of KANEHSATAKE: 270 YEARS OF RESISTEANCE, Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki), profiles a young, courageous Kahnawa...