Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 15 hours ago
"I Am Gitxsan" follows Phoenix Apperloo, a recent high school graduate reconnecting with his Indigenous heritage in Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. Inspired by encounters with residential school survivors, he writes a heartfelt letter to Prime Minister Trudeau about the injustices faced by his people. The documentary highlights the impact of colonialism on the Gitxsan community, featuring insights from experts like Dr Gabor Maté and showcasing their resilience through protests and legal actions.
Transcript
00:02Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
00:06Canada needs to reconcile
00:08the fact that this happened. It was Canada that did it.
00:12We're not looking for an apology. We are appealing
00:15for equality.
00:20I'm writing to you as an 18-year-old kid sound individual
00:23who recently visited my ancestral home in northern British Columbia.
00:28Human beings aren't this miraculous creature
00:31made of some other cosmic material that's totally separate
00:35from this world. This is a very healthy population prior
00:39to colonization. Indian children in the residential
00:43schools die at a much higher rate than in their villages.
00:47The residential schools destroyed the indigenous families.
00:51Knocked on the door, next thing we're on the train. Nothing can stop it.
00:57When you hear babies crying,
00:59then suddenly the crying stops.
01:02We dug graves there.
01:04How in the world was I supposed to get that out of my being?
01:07I didn't intend to write this letter, but I felt I had to do it after what I saw and
01:12heard.
01:15Colonization, it's messy business.
01:18Displacing, dispossessing, unnecessary killing in large numbers.
01:22To me, Canada doesn't even exist.
01:25But this does not justify a change in the policy of this department,
01:29which is geared towards a final solution of our Indian problem.
01:33I mean, it's an outrage.
01:35It's a scandal.
01:36What is there to be afraid of because we have the truth behind us?
01:41Here's the story.
01:42Here's the story.
01:42Now.
01:44To be continued.
01:45Now.
Comments