Mother of many children

Canada, 1977

Film
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This film is an album of Native womanhood, portraying a proud egalitarian matriarchal society that for centuries has been pressured to adopt different standards and customs. All of the women featured share a belief in the importance of tradition as a source of strength in the face of change. Ethnographic documentation of Native Canadian ‘American’ post colonialisation which includes documented accounts of the ‘stolen generation’ in Native American tribes and personal accounts of racial discrimination. Directed, written, produced and narrated by Alanis Obomsawin. (Awards: San Francisco; Dieppe)

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

producer/director

Alanis Obomsawin

production company

National Film Board of Canada

Duration

00:57:45:00

Production places
Canada
Production dates
1977

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

311338

Language

English

Subject categories

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Film festivals - United States - San Francisco - Awards

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Indians of North America - Canada

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Indians of North America - Canada - Social life and customs

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Indigenous peoples - Canada

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Inuit - Canada, Northern - Social life and customs

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Women - Canada

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Canada

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Culture conflict

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Ethnic attitudes

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Ethnology

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Indians of North America - Canada - Social conditions

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Race discrimination

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Racism

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social change

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Women - Canada

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Women - Social conditions

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Women's rights

Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Women - Education

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Women - Canada

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Women's rights

History → History

History → Women - History

History → Women's rights

Short films

Short films → Short films - Canada

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Wikidata

Q59617157

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/88739--mother-of-many-children/ |title=Mother of many children |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=12 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}