Subject Guides: Teaching Indigenous Education: Films & Documentaries

Local Streaming Videos

Aviary Database
Aviary is a database and digital repository that provides access to a wide range of audiovisual materials, including Indigenous content, with a focus on respectful preservation and accessibility. Aviary allows for controlled access to streaming video and audio files and their associated transcripts and indexes. Examples of existing collection materials in Aviary include oral histories, interviews, event recordings, musical performances, radio and television broadcasts and open educational resources.
NFB Indigenous Cinema Collection
The NFB Indigenous Cinema Collection features over 200 films by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit filmmakers. This growing collection highlights Indigenous stories, languages, and perspectives across documentaries, animation, and short films.

You can browse by Indigenous subject categories, filmmaker nation, or language, and explore curated playlists for different topics and age groups. The collection supports classroom use and independent learning, and is free to stream online.

Streaming Video Databases

Start Here!

Welcome.
This section highlights films and documentaries created by or about Indigenous Peoples. These works celebrate Indigenous cultures, languages, histories, resistance, and resilience, offering powerful ways to learn, reflect, and connect with Indigenous voices.

Why Watch Indigenous Films?

Films by Indigenous filmmakers bring Indigenous stories, knowledge systems, and worldviews to the forefront. They challenge stereotypes, celebrate diverse Nations and cultures, and provide important insights into both historical and contemporary Indigenous experiences.

Getting Started

Browse "Films" for narratives created by Indigenous directors and storytellers.
Explore "Films and Documentaries" in the "Residential Schools" tab for films specifically on this topic.
Check out the "Local Streaming Videos" and "Streaming Videos" boxes for platforms for accessing films through the University of Alberta Library, streaming platforms, or Indigenous film festivals.
The "Search Strategies" and "How to Search" boxes provide information for finding films and documentaries.
Contact the library help chat, we’re happy to support you further!

Search Strategies

How to search:

Think of your search terms!

If you want just a few good results, use one or two terms
If you want to make your search wider, use more related terms.

Try, for example: "first nation*'" or aboriginal* or native* or Indigenous

Remember, the names or spelling of Indigenous nations or communities may vary, and names may change over time. The names communities use for themselves may be different from how they are referred to in English.

In many databases:

"quotation marks" keep your search terms together (e.g. "first nations" will search for instances where those two words appear next to each other).
*asterisks can help you search for words that have the same root (e.g. indigen* searches indigenous, indigenize, indigeneity etc. BUT will also search indigent).

Language matters. Search using multiple terms such as "Indigenous," "First Nations," "Métis," "Inuit," or "Native American" to capture different perspectives and materials. When possible, also search using nation-specific names (e.g., Haudenosaunee, Cree, Anishinaabe).

Keywords and Subject Headings

Try these keywords and subject terms:

Indigenous, First Nations, Métis, Inuit
Cree, Ojibwe, or other specific nations
Documentary

Use Filters

After searching, apply filters to narrow results:

Format: DVD, Streaming Video, Film, Video
Language: English, Cree, Inuktitut, etc.
Date: Set a custom range for historical or recent films

Explore Curated Playlists

many online platforms offer ready-made collections centered on Indigenous voices.

Films

The Embargo Project by Microclimat
Call Number: PN 1997.2 E560 2015

The Embargo Project is an anthology of five short films by Canadian Indigenous women. The titles and artists include: Roberta by Caroline Monnet, Skyworld by Zoe Hopkins, Bihttoš (Rebel) by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Intermperance by Lisa Jackson and Aviliaq (Entwined) by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. Participating in a collective process, each director created a film under restrictions imposed on them by their peers, to push each artist into new creative territory.
I Like Girls by National Film Board of Canada
Charlotte, Mathilde, Marie, and Diane reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves, sharing funny and intimate tales of one-sided infatuation, mutual attraction, erotic moments, and fumbling attempts at sexual expression. For them, sexual awakening comes hand-in-hand with discovering their desire for other women-and a joyful new self-awareness.
Three Thousand by National Film Board of Canada
My father was born in a spring igloo--half snow, half skin. I was born in a hospital, with jaundice and two teeth. Inuit artist Asinnajaq plunges us into a sublime imaginary universe--14 minutes of luminescent, archive-inspired cinema that recast the present, past and future of her people in a radiant new light.
ôtênaw by Aviary Films
Call Number: PN 4193 I5 O55 2017

"Drawing on the tradition of oral storytelling, ôtênaw is a philosophical and creative treatment of land rights, territory, history and culture. As Dr. Dwayne Donald leads a walking tour of amiskwaciwâskahikan (now the city of Edmonton), talking about the history of the land and the people who lived there, the layers of human habitation slowly reveal themselves.
Mud by Shandiin Tome
On her last day, Ruby faces the inescapable remnants of alcoholism, family, and culture.
Long Line of Ladies by Shandiin Tome
In the weeks leading up to her Ihuk, Ahty learns traditional songs and dances and mentally and physically prepares to spend four days blindfolded and fasting on sacred, tribal land. Meanwhile, the women and men around her support and uplift her as they pass down knowledge, prepare regalia, and above all, promote the continued revitalization of their sacred ceremony.