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OBOMSAWIN, Alanis

Born
Lebanon, New Hampshire, 1932
Biography synopsis
Alanis Obomsawin is a prolific filmmaker, who has made over forty films about the experiences of Indigenous people in North America. She grew up in the small Abenaki settlement of Odanak, Quebec, and later Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, where she experienced and witnessed discrimination that would inspire the trajectory of her artistic career. Obomsawin began her career as a fashion model turned traditional storyteller and singer during the 1960s, but was hired by the NFB in 1967 as a consultant because of her activism in Native communities. In 1971, she directed her first film with NFB support, Christmas at Moose Factory, a study of life at a Native settlement on the shore of James Bay, explored through the lens of children's drawings. Among her well-known films is Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), one of four she made about the armed standoff between the Mohawk nation, who were protesting the development of a golf course on a sacred area of their territory, and the Quebec police and the Canadian army in July 1990. Despite being abandoned by all other film crews from major news outlets, Obomsawin remained behind barricades for seventy-eight days to stand in solidarity with the Mohawk community near Oka. Obomsawin makes films to educate Native and non-Native people about the ongoing reality of Indigenous struggles. Her filmmaking is rooted in a desire to facilitate healing through cross-cultural and inter-generational communication.
Media used
Film
File & Archive locations
National Film Board of Canada, QC
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, ON - Resource Centre
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"$25,000 Toronto-City Prize Goes to Native Filmmaker (Alanis Obomsawin)." Toronto Star 20 Sep. 1993
"'Film Provides a Place for our People to be Seen and Heard'; Alanis Obomsawin, Film-maker." Gazette (Montreal) 8 Nov. 1993
"11th Annual St. John's International Women's Film and Video Festival: Schedule." Telegram (Toronto) 13 Oct. 2000
"A 25 Year Retrospective: Native Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin." Aboriginal Voices 6.3 (May/Jun 1999): 32
"A Probing NFB Look Behind Oka Barricades." Edmonton Journal 11 Jul. 1993
"Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Launches September 1." Canada NewsWire 27 Aug. 1999
http://www.newswire.ca/
"Alanis Obomsawin - NFB." National Film Board of Canada Accessed 28 Jul. 2015
http://www.nfb.ca/explore-all-directors/alanis-obomsawin
"Alanis Obomsawin Makes Her Mark as Relentless Storyteller." Canadian Press NewsWire 19 Jun. 2000
"APTN Begins New Season." Telegram (Toronto) 1 Feb. 2003
"APTN Begins Winter Season Next Week with several New Programs." Canadian Press NewsWire 31 Jan. 2003
"At Home with Alanis Obomsawin." Gazette (Montreal) 28 Jan. 1996
"Canada Honours its Stars of the Awards Season at Inaugural Celebration in Los Angeles." Canada NewsWire 21 Feb. 2014
"Canadian Director's Films shown at Indian Festival." Ottawa Citizen 2 Feb. 1996
"Canadian Film-Maker's Work Featured at Bombay Festival for Documentaries." Vancouver Sun 31 Jan. 1996
"Canadian Works Featured at Native American Film Festival." Daily News 25 Oct. 1997
"Celebrate Earth this Week." Gazette (Montreal) 20 Apr. 1991
"Celebrities to Gather and Tell their Stories: Aboriginal Broadcast Production Studies a Canadian First." Canada NewsWire 2 Jun. 2000
"Concordia Honors Activists Work." Gazette (Montreal) 7 Jun. 1993
"Cutting through the Razor Wire at Mohawk Barricades (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance)." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 25 Sep. 1993
"David Cronenberg, Alanis Obomsawin, to Get Special Canadian Screen Awards." Canadian Press 5 Nov. 2013
"Doc Pioneers to be Honoured." Toronto Star 20 Jan. 2009
"Documentary Filmmakers in the City have been Lining Up to Attend a National Film Board Class Headed by Canadian Alanis Obomsawin." Canadian Press NewsWire 21 May 2004
"Documentary on Oka Standoff Festival Winner." Windsor Star 20 Sep. 1993
"Ex-Editor Awarded Honorary Degree." Gazette (Montreal) 13 May 1993
"Family." Gazette (Montreal) 9 Oct. 2009
"Festival (of Festivals) Honours Native Filmmaker." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 20 Sep. 1993
"Film about Injustice." Gazette (Montreal) 19 Jun. 2009
"Film about Oka Crisis Tells Two Tales of Courage (Alanis Obomsawin's Kanesatake: 270 Years of Resistance)." Toronto Star 25 Sep. 1993
"Film Premiere Today." Edmonton Journal 10 Mar. 1989
"First Aboriginal Film Awards Slated Next Month (Edmonton)." Canadian Press NewsWire 5 May 1996
"Flicks Speaker." Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon): 6 Feb 2009
"Focus on Native Issues: Alanis Obomsawin Uses Film to Speak Out Against Injustice and to Foster Understanding of Native Life." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 10 Aug. 1990
"Full Circle." Gazette (Montreal) 19 Jul. 1999
"Governor General Announces Seven Winners of Visual and Media Arts Awards." Canadian Press NewsWire 14 Mar. 2001
"Hounour: Visual, Media Arts Award Winners Named." Telegram (Toronto) 15 Mar. 2001
"How Whisky Trench and Little Burgundy Got their Names; Unlike the Main, their Origins are Less Known, Although Commonly Used." Gazette (Montreal) 11 Apr. 2015
"ImagineNative Fest Unveils Highlights." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 30 Sep. 2010
"Inside Today." Gazette (Montreal) 31 Aug. 2006
"It's a Wrap on the Film Fes." Vancouver Sun 20 Sep. 1993
"It's Never Too Late to Pursue Your Dreams." Winnipeg Free Press 30 Dec. 2011
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"Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance." Canadian Woman Studies 14.2 (Spring 1994): 126-127
"Native Art Topic of Talk." Times-Colonist (Victoria) 26 Feb. 2004
"Native Canadian Films Strike a Chord with Viewers at Sundance Film Festival." Canadian Press NewsWire 25 Jan. 2001
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"Native Intelligence." Province 26 Aug. 1994
"Native Week Features Shows, Powwows, Films." Calgary Herald 6 May 1989
"New Zealand Film Festival's Docos Coming to a Festival Near You." Onfilm (May 2003): 16
"NFB Drama Not Intended to be Racist." Gazette (Montreal) 31 May 1993
"NFB Films at Native Festival." Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon) 25 Oct. 1997
"NFB Sells Several Productions to U.S., Overseas Broadcasters." Edmonton Journal 23 Jun. 1993
"Not the Love He was Hoping for; Spotlight." Toronto Star 22 Jan. 2009
"Obomsawin Movie Coming to Museum." Ottawa Citizen 23 Sep. 2004
"Obomsawin's Work Featured in Bombay Film Fest." Gazette (Montreal) 31 Jan. 1996
"Obomsawin: Film and Song Bridge Cultures." Windspeaker 24 Mar. 1989
"Oka Crisis: Worst Moment Revisited [Rocks at Whiskey Trench]." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 21 Jun. 2000
"Oka Documentary Lauded in Britain." Vancouver Sun 10 Jul. 1993
"Oka Film-Maker Offers Tears, Thanks; TORONTO HONORS: Critic Jay Scott is Not Forgotten as Canadian and Foreign Film-Makers Pick Up their Awards at the Festival of Festivals." The Ottawa Citizen 20 Sep. 1993
"Oka Story Wins National Film Fest (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Wins 1993 Toronto-CITY Award for Best Canadian Feature at Festival of Festivals)." Windspeaker 27 Sep/10 Oct. 1993
"Other NFB Film on Oka Getting British Raves." Ottawa Citizen 11 Jul. 1993
"Quebec Racist, Says Indian Princess Obomsawin as She Quits Language-Council Post." Gazette (Montreal) 22 Jan. 1982
"Quebec's Obomsawin Wins for Best Canadian Feature Film at Toronto Festival." Gazette (Montreal) 20 Sep. 1993
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"Social Activists to Gather for Laurentian Conference." Sudbury Star 3 Nov. 2002
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"Sudbury Director among Canadians at Sundance:" Sudbury Star 20 Jan. 2003
"Telefilm Canada Highlights Aboriginal Stories Told by Women Filmmakers at Berlin International Film Festival." Canada NewsWire 4 Feb. 2013
"The 10th Annual Toronto Women in Film and Television Awards." Toronto Star 13 Mar. 1994
"The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and the National Film Board of Canada Sign Agreement to Spearhead Aboriginal Production and Youth-Directed Opportunities." Canada NewsWire 23 Apr. 2003
http://www.newswire.ca/
"The Arts in Brief: Union Protests NFB Cuts." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 12 Aug. 1994
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"Weekend Best." Ottawa Citizen 24 Feb. 1994
"Where There's Smoke: Sure, Yesterday's Winners of the Governor General's Visual Arts Awards were the Usual Suspects. but for a Country Trying to Kindle Interest in its Art, is that such a Bad Thing?" National Post (Canada) 15 Mar. 2001
"Why I Quit French Language Council -- Alanis Obomsawin." Gazette (Montreal) 25 Jan. 1982
Abley, Mark. "Abenaki-Speakers Race Against Time; Aboriginal Language Among the Most Endangered on Earth." Gazette (Montreal) 28 Nov. 1993
Abramovitch, Ingrid. "Native Movies Dominate New Cinema, Video Festival." Ottawa Citizen 4 Oct. 1990
Adah, Anthony. Embodying the Screen: Body and identity in Aboriginal Cinemas Diss. University of Toronto, 2007
Adah, Anthony. "On the Field of Battle: First Nations Women Documentary Filmmakers." The Gendered Screen: Canadian Women Filmmakers, ed. Brenda Austin-Smith and George Melnyk Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier UP, 165-183, 2010
Adams, James. "Leaving Stereotypes in the Dust." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 10 Sep. 2013
Adilman, Sid. "Film about Oka Crisis Tells Two Tales of Courage." Toronto Star 25 Sep 1993
Ahearn, Victoria. "First Nations Doc Maker Alanis Obomsawin Mourns Loss of 'Trick Or Treaty?' Star." Canadian Press 3 Sep. 2014
Alioff, Maurie. "Dream Magic: Alanis Obomsawin After Oka." Matrix 33 (Spring 1991): 5-9
Alioff, Maurie and Susan S. Levine. "The Long Walk of Alanis Obomsawin (Interview)." Cinema Canada 142 (Jun. 1987): 10-15
Anderson, Jason. "Drama Out of Trauma at Film Festival." Toronto Star 17 Oct. 2012
Anderson, Jason. "Sol Digs into Suicide of Young Inuk Man." Toronto Star 24 Oct. 2014
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Atherton, Tony. "This Week's Highlights." Ottawa Citizen 2 Jan. 1994
Baele, Nancy. "Aboriginal Community Honored; First Annual Gala Presents Awards to 12 Winners." Ottawa Citizen 2 Mar. 1994
Baele, Nancy. "An Eye on Oka; Obomsawin's Acclaimed Film is Too Strong for the CBC." Ottawa Citizen 14 Oct. 1993
Baele, Nancy. "Native Artists Showcased." Ottawa Citizen 25 Sep. 1992
Bailey, Ian. "Glitz-Free Newfoundland Film Fest Focuses on Women." Gazette (Montreal) 14 Oct. 1993
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Bertrand, Karine. Le Cinema des Premieres Nations du Quebec et des Inuit du Nunavut : Reappropriation Culturelle et Esthetique du Sacre Montreal: Diss. Universite de Montreal, 2014
http://hdl.handle.net/1866/10125
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Bradley, Lara. "Canadian Film Titans Will Go Head to Head at Cinefest:" Sudbury Star 28 Aug. 2002
Bradshaw, James. "Davis's Invisible City Wins $15,000 Hot Docs Prize." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 9 May 2009
Braun, Will. "Oka at 25, Lessons in Reconciliation." Winnipeg Free Press 11 Jul. 2015
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Brownstein, Bill. "One from the Heart, One for the Heart; the NFB Streams Alanis Obomsawin's Chronicle of First Nations Students' Cause; Casablanca is Restored in Time for Valentine's Day." Gazette (Montreal) 13 Feb. 2014
Brownstein, Bill. "There's no stopping legendary documentarian Alanis Obomsawin." Gazette (Montreal) 10 Nov. 2016
Burelle, Julie Sara Veronique.. Encounters on Contested Lands: First Nations Performances of Sovereignty and Nationhood in Quebec San Diego: University of California, 2014
Burliuk, Greg. "Films that Give a Voice to Poverty." Whig - Standard (Kingston) 4 Nov. 1989
Burliuk, Greg. "This Year's Kingston Film Festival Puts Focus on Race." Whig - Standard (Kingston) 1 Nov. 1990
Campbell, Lindsey. "(Re)Covering Oka: Alanis Obomsawin's Representation of the Crisis at Oka." Offscreen 14.3 (2010)
Chafer, Colin. "Rocks at Whiskey Trench." Resource Links 6.4 (Apr 2001): 34-35
Cornellier, Bruno. "The Thing about Obomsawin's Indianness: Indigenous Reality and the Burden of Education at the National Film Board of Canada." Canadian Journal of Film Studies 21.2 (Autumn 2012): 2-26
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Dunlevy, T’Cha. "A Community on the Edge; Isolated and in Dire Need of Support, the People of Attawapiskat Tell their Stories to Director Alanis Obomsawin." Gazette (Montreal) 9 Nov. 2012
Dunlevy, T’Cha. "Dolan, Arcand, and Lafleur Join the Quebec Delegation at TIFF." Gazette (Montreal) 7 Aug. 2014
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Everett-Green, Robert. "How Idle No More Changes the View." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 16 Jan. 2013
Fortney, Valerie. "Through the Eyes of an Activist Filmmaker." Calgary Herald 4 Oct. 2002
Gallagher-Hayashi, Diane. "Alanis Obomsawin: The Collection 270 Years of Resistance: Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance." Resource Links 15.3 (Feb. 2010): 47-47, 53
Gard. "Music Records: Concert Reviews - Alanis Obomsawin." Variety 263.12 (4 Aug. 1971): 43
Gauthier, Jennifer L. "Dismantling the Master's House: The Feminist Fourth Cinema Documentaries of Alanis Obomsawin and Loretta Todd." Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory, edited by Marubbio, M. Elise and Eric L. Buffalohead Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2013: 89-115
Gauthier, Jennifer L., Kass Banning, J. Marchessault, et al. "Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women's Cinema." American Review of Canadian Studies 31.3 (Fall 2001): 518-520
Gessell, Paul. "Dangerous Artistic Ground: Round-Up of GG Visual Arts Winners." CanWest News 3 Mar. 2004
Glasser, Irene. "On being Native and Homeless on the Streets of Montreal." City & Society 9.1 (1997): 263-265
Goldfarb, Hilliard. "Alanis Obomsawin, Printmaker: An Artist and Her Nation: the Waban-aki Basketmakers of Odanak." The Magazine of the Montreal Museum Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, May to August 2019: 8-9
Greer, Sandy. "Mohawks and the Media: Alanis Obomsawin's Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance." Take 1 4 (Winter 1994): 18-21
Griffin, John. "Kanehsatake Documentary Shows Shameful Way Canadian Government Treats Aboriginal People." Gazette (Montreal) 7 Nov. 1993
Griffin, John. "New Film Festival Celebrates Offbeat and Obscure." Gazette (Montreal) 6 Oct. 1993
Griffin, John. "Quebec Film Rendez-Vous to Honor Best of '88." Gazette (Montreal) 25 Jan. 1989
Guttman, Naomi. "Capsule Reviews of Selected Recent Documentaries -- No Address Directed by Alanis Obomsawin." Cinema Canada 167 (Oct 1989): 24
Haeseker, Fred. "Oscar Winners Join Anniversary Bash." Calgary Herald 29 Apr. 1989
Hamilton, Graeme. "Natives Impatient for Change, Norton Says." Gazette (Montreal) 4 May 1989
Hampson, Sarah. "The Hampson Interview Alanis Obomsawin." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 21 Oct. 2006
Harewood, Adrian. "Alanis Obomsawin: A Portrait of a First Nations Filmmaker." Take 1 12.43 (Sep-Dec 2003)
Harris, Christopher. "FILM NEWS Conference for Minority Film and Video Producers Includes Workshops, Screenings Finding some 'Common Ground'." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 23 Nov. 1990
Harris, Christopher. "Four Canadian Films Invited to Sundance." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 9 Dec. 1997
Harris, Christopher. "Sundance Showing Oka Documentary." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 20 Jan. 1994
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Hays, Matthew. "Oka Crisis: Worst Moment Revisited." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 21 Jun. 2000
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Heti, Sheila. "'I Tell What They Told Me'." Flare 35.7 (Jul 2013): 94-95
Hiller, Susanne. "Hey! is that really ...?" National Post (Toronto) 7 Sep. 2000
Hladki, Janice. "Decolonizing Colonial Violence: The Subversive Practices of Aboriginal Film and Video." Canadian Woman Studies/Les Cahiers De La Femme 25.1-2 (2006): 83-87
Holt, Jim. "NFB Director's Compelling Film of Kahnawake Rock-Throwing Screened at Sundance." Canadian Press NewsWire 21 Jan. 2001
Holt, Jim. "Shining a Bright Light on Hatred: Kahnawake Documentary Earns Raves at Sundance." Telegram (Toronto) 22 Jan. 2001
Holt, Jim. “Strong Canadian Films Screen at Sundance, Including Seducing Doctor Lewis." Canadian Press NewsWire 18 Jan. 2004
Horibe, Kathlyn. "`I Fight for Social Change in Everything I do'." Gazette (Montreal) 5 Jul. 1993
Horton, Marc. "Movie-Maker Saw Crisis Unfold." Edmonton Journal 17 Sep 1993
Houpt, Simon. "From Moose Factory to Oka to the MoMA." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 17 May 2008
Hubbard, Tasha and Rossanna Deerchild. "The Lens of Alanis Obomsawin." Herizons 27.1 (2013): 44-46
Hustak, Alan. "Feting our Founders: National Aboriginal Day Observed Throughout the City." Gazette (Montreal) 22 Jun. 2002
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Journal Staff. "Documentary Best of Fest at Dreamspeakers." Edmonton Journal 15 May 1996
Kalbfleisch, Elizabeth Claire. Bordering on Feminism: Home and Transnational Sites in Recent Visual Culture and Native Women's Art Diss. University of Rochester, 2009
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Kelly, Brendan. "Politics Closer to Home:" Gazette (Montreal) 31 Aug. 2006
Kelly, Brendan. "Quebec is Hot at Sundance: Three Local Film-Makers Will Screen Works at Renowned Festival Next Month." Gazette (Montreal) 23 Dec. 2000
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Kozinska, Dorota. "Alanis Obomsawin. Dream Works on Paper." Vie Des Arts 220 (2010): 16-17
Kozinska, Dorota. "Alanis Obomsawin; Film-Maker Says She Gets Attached to Things: `I Know I Shouldn't But I Do'." Gazette (Montreal) 28 Jan. 1996
Lennon, Gail. "Sigwan." Resource Links 11.5 (Jun 2006): 38-39
Leuthold, Steve.. "Rhetorical Dimensions of Native American Documentary." Wicazo Sa Review 16.2 (2001): 55-73
Lewis, Randolph. Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2006
Liebman, Roy. "Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker." Library Journal 131.7 (15 Apr 2006): 7
Lim, Audrea. "Borderlands and Paradises: Suburbs, Cities and "Alanis Obomsawin."" Antigonish Review 162 (Summer 2010): 91-98.
Loft, Steven. "Sovereignty, Subjectivity and Social Action : the Films of Alanis Obomsawin." Transference, Tradition, Technology: Native New Media Exploring Visual & Digital Culture, edited by Melanie Townsend, Dana Claxton, and Steven Lof Banff, Alberta: Walter Phillips Gallery Editions, 2005: 60-67
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Loreto, Frank. "Gene Boy Came Home." CM: Canadian Review of Materials 14.15 (21 Mar 2008)
Loreto, Frank. "Hi-Ho Mistahey!" CM: Canadian Review of Materials 21.32 (24 Apr 2015)
Loreto, Frank. "Is the Crown at War with Us?" CM: Canadian Review of Materials 10.9 (2 Jan 2 2004)
Loreto, Frank. "The People of the Kattawapiskaka River." CM: Canadian Review of Materials 21.35 (15 May 2015)
Loten, Angus. "Obomsawin Takes Top Honours at Women's Awards:" Gazette (Montreal) 24 Apr 2003
Lyons, Tom. "Alanis Obomsawin Turns Lens on Burnt Church Fishing Dispute for Documentary." Canadian Press NewsWire 12 Sep 2002
Lyons, Tom. "Imaginenative Media Arts Festival: (10/24-27/02)." Take 1 11.41 (Mar-May 2003): 43
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MacInnis, Craig. "Film Festival Flags the Best in Canada." Toronto Star 4 Aug. 1993
MacInnis, Craig. "In-Your-Face Author Puts our Lifestyles into His Perspective." Toronto Star 3 Sep. 1993
MacInnis, Craig. "No Stars, Just Flicks at Street-Level Fest." Toronto Star 24 Sep. 1993
MacLeod, Ian. "Mohawk Crisis: New 'Discussions' Under Way; Iroquois Leadership, Government Officials Discuss Peace Plan." Ottawa Citizen 24 Sep 1990
MacLeod, Ian. "Native Negotiators are Working on Yet Another..." CanWest News (Winnipeg) 23 Sep. 1990
Mazey, Steven. "New Awards Will Recognize Achievements of Native People." Vancouver Sun 4 Feb 1994
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McLaren, Leah. "Canada's First Lady of Native Film Alanis Obomsawin's Acclaimed Work Gets Retrospective Treatment at Festival." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 16 Jun 1999
McLaren, Leah. "Canada's First Lady of Native Film." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 16 Jun. 1999
Miliokas, Nick. "Our very Own Film Festival." Leader Post (Regina) 15 Sep 2005
Milléo Martins, Maria Lúcia. "Dionne Brand and Alanis Obomsawin: Polyphony in the Poetics of Resistance." Ilha do Desterro: A Journal of Language and Literature 56 (2009): 151-164
Miron, Isabelle. "Echange Avec Alanis Obomsawin Et André Dudemaine Suite à La Projection Du Film Kanehsatake 250 Ans De Résistance." Paroles Et Images Amérindiennes Du Québec, ed. Mossetto, Anna Paola and Isabelle Miron Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon, 2005: 155-161
Mithlo, Nancy Marie. "Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker." American Anthropologist 109.4 (Dec 2007): 749-750
Monk, Katherine. "18 Canadian Films Sent to Redford's 20th Festival:" Vancouver Sun 16 Jan 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Aboriginals See Trip as First Step in Films." Calgary Herald 16 Apr 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Alanis Obomsawin Chronicles Seismic Shift in Aboriginal Youth." Postmedia News 5 Sep 2013
Monk, Katherine. "Building Relationships." Leader Post (Regina) 17 Apr 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Canadian Content Increased at Sundance Film Festival." Leader Post (Regina) 15 Jan 2004
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Monk, Katherine. "Canadians to Learn from Australia, N.Z." Vancouver Sun 16 Apr 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Crowds Fall for Documentaries:" Gazette (Montreal) 21 Jan 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Documentaries Hot at Sundance." Leader Post (Regina) 22 Jan 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Downtown Eastside Film Appealed to Native Star: Mohawk Actress Challenged and Rewarded." Vancouver Sun 18 Jun 2004
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Monk, Katherine. "Native Filmmakers Share Tricks of Trade." Ottawa Citizen 16 Apr 2004
Monk, Katherine. "Non-Fiction Films Steal the show at Sundance:" Vancouver Sun 20 Jan 2004
Morrall, Susan. "Show Film Unedited." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 20 Oct 1993
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Nahwegahbow, Barb. "Meet 'The People of the Kattawapiskak River'." Windspeaker Nov 2012
Nahwegahbow, Barb. "Shannen's Dream Inspired Filmmaker Obomsawin." Windspeaker 10 (Oct 2013)
Narine, Shari. "Obomsawin First Indigenous Filmmaker in TIFF Masters." Windspeaker Sep 2014
Newson, Janice A. "Outstanding Contribution Award 1994: Alanis Obomsawin." Society-Societe 19.2 (May 1995): 37-39
O'Flanagan, Rob. "Film Recalls Painful Canadian Event." Sudbury Star 23 Sep 2000
O'Neil, Peter. "A Tarnished Badge: Natives' Allegations of Misconduct Sully the Image of the Quebec Police." Ottawa Citizen 9 Sep 1990
O'Neil, Peter. "Mohawk Hold-Outs Hate and Fear Quebec Provincial Police." Vancouver Sun 8 Sep 1990
O'Neil, Peter. "Quebecers Give Police Poor Grades; Bullying Tactics Blamed." Edmonton Journal 6 Sep 1990
O'Neil, Peter. "The Natives of Kanesatake and Kahnawake have..." CanWest News 5 Sep 1990
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Peters, Joanne. "When all the Leaves are Gone = Quand Toutes Les Feuilles Seront Tombés." CM: Canadian Review of Materials 18.26 (9 Mar 2012)
Pevere, Geoff. "Buzz is the Buzz on Opening Day of Film Festival." Toronto Star 17 Jan. 2003
Pevere, Geoff. "Forget the Alamo -- Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Directed by Alanis Obomsawin." Canadian Forum 72.824 (Nov 1993): 25-26
Pevere, Geoff. "Series Captures Reel Experiences." Toronto Star 10 Jun 1999
Pick, Zuzana. "Storytelling and Resistance: The Documentary Practice of Alanis Obomsawin." Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women's Cinema Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999: 76-93
Plateil, Rudy. "Alanis Obomsawin Uses Film to Speak Out Against Injustice and to Foster Understanding of Native Life Focus on Native Issues." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 10 Aug 1990
Prins, Harald. "Film Reviews." American Anthropologist 90.3 (1988): 774
Punter, Jennie. "Shorts of Stature." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 31 Aug 2007
Radz, Matt. "Attache Ta Tuque Makes Debut at Film Festival:" Gazette (Montreal) 28 May 2003
Remington, Bob. "Native Film-Makers Get NFB Studio." Edmonton Journal 7 Jun 1991
Restoule, Jean-Paul. "Making Movies, Changing Lives: Aboriginal Film and Identity." Canadian Issues 21 (1999): 180-189
Rice-Barker, Leo. "FCTVM Gala Honors Five Women." Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal 17.15 (14 Apr 2003): 9
Robb, Peter. "Alanis Obomsawin: A Life Spent Creating Truth in Art." Ottawa Citizen 20 Feb 2015
Salter, Denis. "A Cultural Fabric Too Precious to Destroy." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 28 Oct 1995
Saxberg, Kelly. "Reviews -- Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Directed by Alanis Obomsawin." Canadian Dimension 27.5 (Sep 1993): 34-35
Schaefer, Glen. "People from Where the Sun Rises:" Province (Vancouver) 12 oct 2006
Scheib, Ronnie. "Film Reviews: Hamptons: ‘Is the Crown at War with Us?'." Variety 393.3 (1 Dec 2003-7 Dec 2003): 50
Simons, Tony. "'Alanis Obomsawin: Kanehsatake-270 Ans De Résistance.' Where are the Voices Coming from?" Canadian Culture and the Legacies of History, ed Howells, Coral Ann Amsterdam: Brill/Rodopi, 2004: 205-216
Skinner, Jane. "Oka Film Receiving Ovations in England." Windsor Star 12 Jul. 1993
Smith, Allan. "Seeing Things: Race, Image and National Identity in Canadian and American Movies and Television." American Review of Canadian Studies 26.3 (Fall 1996): 367
Sonneborn, Liz. A to Z of Native American Women New York: Facts on File, 1998
Staats, Greg, Victoria Henry, Shelley Niro, Janet Clark. From Iceberg to Iced Tea Ottawa: Carleton University Art Gallery, 1994
Steed, Judy. "Native Activist Fears Bloodshed." Toronto Star 8 Aug. 1990
Strauss, Marise. "Governor General Honors Go to Levy, Obomsawin." Playback: Canada's Broadcast and Production Journal (31 Mar 2008): 6
Switzer, Maurice. "Indians are Not Red. They are Invisible: The Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Pointed Out Obvious Weaknesses in Media Coverage of Native Issues." Media 4.1 (Spring 1997): 21-22
Szklarski, Cassandra. "Alanis Obomsawin Turns Lens to First Nations Education Rights." Canadian Press 6 Sep 2013
Taillon, Joan. "Order of Canada Promotion for Alanis Obomsawin." Windspeaker Feb 2002
Taylor, Jillian. Alanis Obomsawin Passes Knowledge to Aspiring Filmmakers Accessed 28 Jul 2015
http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/alanis-obomsawin-passes-knowledge-to-aspiring-filmmakers-1.2953663
Taylor, Kate. "'My First Battle, it is always Education'." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 8 May 2009
Taylor, Kate. "Hot Docs." Globe and Mail (Toronto) 8 May 2009
Thomson, Shirley L. "Arts Ambassadors." National Post (Toronto) 23 Mar 2001
Tivy, Patrick. "Precious Gift of Hearing Taken Far Too Lightly by Many." Calgary Herald 8 May 1989
Tousley, Nancy. "Childen's Native Art Contest Being Held." Calgary Herald, 21 Jul 1994
Tracy, Andrew. "Not Yet Past: Alanis Obomsawin Explores the Living History of Her People in WABAN-AKI." Point of View 65 (Spring 2007): 10-15
Valade, Claire. "31th Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media: 10/10-20/02." Take 1 11.40 (Dec 2002/Feb 2003): 40-41
Valiante, Giuseppe. "Documentary Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin on 25 Years since Her Work on Oka Crisis." Canadian Press 7 Jul 2015
Valiante, Guiseppe and Peter Rakobowchuk. "1990 Oka Crisis: Events Inspired Native Movements Around the World." Canadian Press 7 Jul. 2015
Vos, Gail de. "Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises." CM: Canadian Review of Materials 14.9 (21 Dec 2007)
Walker, Susan. "Aboriginal Voices Festival Documenting a Harsh Reality; Soft-Spoken Alanis Obomsawin Makes Her Mark as a Relentless Storyteller." Toronto Star 16 Jun 2000
Walker, Susan. "Compact Film Workshop Brings Big-Screen Results." Toronto Star 26 Apr. 1996
Walker, Susan. "Film Rocks Media's View of Standoff: Rocks at Whiskey Trench Recasts Mohawk Blockade." Kingston Whig-Standard 20 Jun 2000
Walker, Susan. "Film Workshop Director a Mentor for New Crop of Canadian Talent Screen Hopefuls Inspired at National Film Board Centre." Toronto Star 27 Dec 1993
Walker, Susan. "Much to Celebrate at Well-Organized Feminist Book Fair." Toronto Star 20 Jun. 1988
Walker, Susan. "The War of the Lobsters." Toronto Star 13 Sep 2002
Walker, Susan. "Toronto's Other Global Film Festival; ImagineNATIVE Showcases the World's Aboriginal Works." Toronto Star 8 Sep 2000
Walker, Susan. "Visual, Media Artists Win Gov.-Gen. Awards." Toronto Star 15 Mar 2001
Walker, Susan. "Visual, Media Artists Win Gov.-Gen. Awards." Toronto Star 15 Mar 2001
Walsh, Michael. "Thank God for NFB." Province (Vancouver) 14 Oct 1993
Warner, Erin. "Filmmakers Preparing for Aboriginal Film Festival." Leader Post (Regina) 7 Mar 2006
Watson, Patrick. "The Full Story of Music in Canada." Books in Canada 35.6 (Sep 2006): 24
White, Jerry. "Alanis Obomsawin, Documentary Form and the Canadian Nation(s)." Cineaction (Jun 1999): 26-36
White, Jerry. "Alanis Obomsawin, Documentary Form and the Canadian Nation(s)." North of Everything: English Canadian Cinema since 1980 Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2002: 364-375
Wong, Tia. "Eyeing Resistance: Alanis Obomsawin's Third Cinema/Gaze/World." Cinephile: The University of British Columbia's Film Journal 5.1 (2009): 51-55

Writings by
Obomsawin, Alanis. "Imaginative Geographies: Interview with Monika Kin Gagnon." 13 Conversations about Art and Cultural Race Politics, edited by Monika Gagnon; Cameron Bailey; Richard Fung Montreal: Artexte Editions, 2002: 89-93.
Obomsawin, Alanis. "Sounds and Voices from our people." Artscanada 30.5-6 (1973-1974): 89-93
Obomsawin, Alanis. "The Eyewitness. Alanis Obomsawin: Filmmaker, Oka Chronicler, Golf Course Accomodationist." Saturday Night 115.13 (29 Jul 2000): 6

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