Anger links arms with resilience in Alanis Obomsawin’s riveting two-hour account of the Oka Crisis, a bellicose conflict that received global attention. Unwavering in its commitment to sacred land and First Nations struggles, Kanehsatake is among the filmmaker’s most accomplished works.

Sitting in on an art class for her first short, Indigenous director Alanis Obomsawin celebrates the nascent creativity of Cree children. Accompanying their lovely impressions of wintry landscapes and nativity scenes, the little artists talk in voice-over about their processes, ideas, and dreams.

Bureaucracy is another channel for systemic prejudice in this portrait of an ardent protestor, maligned for her Mohawk name. Giving voice to one individual who set aside pacifism to protect an endangered environment and her people, this short resonates with historic fights for self-determination.

With an Indigenous way of life suddenly under fire, Alanis Obomsawin’s practice takes an explicitly political turn in this spirited documentary. Usually present in voice-over only, the filmmaker and activist intervenes onscreen to expose a Canadian official’s prejudice with trenchant insight.

In this plentiful picture of gendered experience in Indigenous communities, all manner of grandmaternal traditions are generously shared. Just as attentive to the hardship that results from discrimination, Alanis Obomsawin underlines the vital importance of togetherness, ritual, and education.