Fight for equality is ‘very important’
Obomsawin doc looks at battle over medical care for Indigenous children
Alanis Obomsawin has spent much of her career documenting injustices facing Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the wrongs she outlines often overwhelm, infuriate and bewilder.
But for the dogged 87-year-old Abenaki director, the work continues to inspire.
“We’re in a much better place. You have to recognize there’s been so many people working for this across this country (and) it’s different,” Obomsawin says of public awareness of Indigenous issues as her 53rd film was set to launch at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“This is why I do what I do (and this film) is very encouraging. I think people will come out seeing that justice is possible.”
Obomsawin’s latest project, Jordan River Anderson, The
Messenger, examines the legal battle to secure equal care for Indigenous children with special needs. It starts with a look at the Manitoba boy who inspired a 2007 law known as Jordan’s Principle, which was supposed to guarantee equal access to health care, but was continually ignored. Even when the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued a ruling that resolved a debate over jurisdiction, many Indigenous children continued to be denied care until several more mandatory orders were issued, the film recounts.
Much of the film’s emotional power comes from the painful story of little Jordan River Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation, who was born in 1999 with a rare muscle disorder known as Carey-Fineman-Ziter syndrome.
In 2002, Jordan was cleared to leave the Winnipeg hospital in which he had spent his entire life for home-based care in the city, but the federal and provincial governments could not agree on who should pay for modifications to his foster home. He died in hospital at age 5 in 2005.
In the documentary, family members and caregivers tell Obomsawin the ordeal was especially hard on Jordan’s mother, who had three other small children more than 800 kilometres away on the reserve, but couldn’t bear to leave Jordan alone in hospital. She died just months after Jordan.
Jordan’s Principle has helped fund care for 216,000 children, says the Montreal-based Obomsawin, noting it’s gratifying to offer a happy ending to the saga.
Last week, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal awarded $2 billion in damages to First Nations children and their families who were separated by a chronically underfunded welfare system. The decision includes compensation for children separated from their families because proper medical support wasn’t made available.
“Fighting is very important,” says Obomsawin, whose landmark documentaries include 1984’s Incident at Restigouche, and 1993’s Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance. Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger premiered Tuesday, with additional screenings Thursday and Saturday.