Hot Docs 2008

Falling in love with the wrong person can have devastating repercussions for Mohawks on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec. Award-winning director Tracey Deer takes a courageous look at her home community, raising questions of identity, history and tradition through the lives of four inspiring Mohawk women. With warmth, depth and humour, stories unfold about the heartbreaking costs of "marrying out" of their Mohawk Nation, the challenges faced by kids of mixed backgrounds, and the conflict between love and preserving the fabric of their community. Having children with the men they love can mean forfeiting their offspring's legal native status, including the right to live with their families on the reserve. The film doesn't flinch from the history of Canada's racist and sexist government policy, including the brutal force used against them during the Oka Crisis in 1990. A groundbreaking film and a powerful story of the triumph of love and the human spirit.
-Lynne Fernie

Co-presented with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.