FILM DEVELOPED, PRODUCED BY TRENT ALUMNUS NOW STREAMING ON CRAVE

I’m Not An Indian, born out of Jake Dockstator’s close relationship with Manitoba’s Dakota Plains First Nation and its late chief Orville Smoke

A documentary film developed and produced by Trent alumnus Jake Dockstator ’10 is doing much to further awareness of, and the conversation around, institutional discrimination and systemic racism as experienced by Canada’s First Nations people.

Now showing on the Bell Media-owned Crave streaming service, I’m Not An Indian was filmed over a couple of weeks at Dakota Plains First Nation in south central Manitoba some 30 kilometres south of Portage La Prairie. Central to the story are the thoughts and reflections of Chief Orville Smoke, who passed away October 5 at age 74.

“We weren’t expecting him (Chief Smoke) to open up so much right off the bat,” says Dockstator, who worked closely with director R. J. Maloney and Dakota Plains First Nations CEO Craig Blacksmith.

“We showed up to get some B roll footage of him in the band office at his desk, that kind of thing, and he opened up completely. He really wanted to tell his story. He wanted to be seen as a human, not an Indian, and that’s what we really tried to communicate.”

The executive director of the Sioux Lookout Friendship Accord Economic Development Corporation since May, Dockstator worked prior on securing financing and overseeing the development of the Dakota Plains Wahpeton Wellness Centre in Winnipeg. It was during that time that Dockstator realized there’s a compelling story to be captured and shared, prompting him to reach out to Maloney.

“We knew Chief Smoke was in ill health, so we wanted to make sure he was able to tell his story,” says Dockstator.

“To see what Dakota Plains has gone through, from the initial village outside of Port La Prairie to being moved to the middle of nowhere, and then the whole issue with their farming and eventually the shuttering of their greenhouse operation. Through Chief Smoke’s experiences, we get to see and understand the effect on individuals and how devastating that is for a community. These are not just issues of the past. They are present day issues because of a ripple effect.”

“The film helps foster understanding. It isn’t to shame anybody or blame anyone. It shows people what things are like outside of the Greater Toronto Area, outside of Ottawa, outside of Vancouver…what it’s like out there for First Nations that are so isolated.”

Characterizing his time at Trent as “the good old days,” Dockstator, who graduated with a BA in Indigenous Studies, says his academic experience “definitely shaped my thinking process,” adding “That’s where I really learned to be more independent in my work.”

Both he and Maloney have applied to various film festivals, including Sundance in Utah, and are waiting to hear back on whether I’m Not An Indian will be screened. In the meantime, further film projects are something he wants to pursue, with both Crave and Bell Media having indicated a desire to hear proposals.