17. Shirley Cheechoo: From the Trap-line

Shirley Cheechoo (Cree) is an acclaimed documentary film maker.

Her film directorial debut was the acclaimed short, Silent Tears (1998), a depiction of her early life on the trap-line, and a moving representation of her mother’s skills as a medicine woman. Shirley’s mother joined the crew during the production, to ensure authenticity in the telling of the story.

Bear Walker (2000), shows how Indigenous women are treated within the community, and also how they are treated outside their community. This story comes from Shirley’s own experiences, and she transposed things she knew, had seen and felt, onto film.

After Bear Walker, Shirley took a break from big crews and associated irritations, gratefully taking up an invitation to return to her community to make a documentary with her own people, Pikutiskwaau, for the Cree elders.

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