Description
Book SynopsisThe first ethnography of the vibrant Aboriginal media community in Vancouver,
Sovereign Screens uncovers the social forces shaping that community, including community media organisations and avant-garde art centres, as well as the national spaces of cultural policy and media institutions.
Trade Review“An accessible, thoughtful exploration of the important contributions Aboriginal media arts offer to Indigenous media studies, experimental and avant-garde media arts, and Indigenous sovereignty.”—Bernard C. Perley,
American Ethnologist“Establishes a persuasive narrative of the development of an influential aspect of Aboriginal culture.”—Roy Todd,
British Journal of Canadian Studies “
Sovereign Screens validates film as a powerful engine that drives self-determination through visual sovereignty, a returning to ourselves that can unite Aboriginal and all peoples through the shared experience of cinema.”—Grace L. Dillon,
Pacific Historical Review “[A] beautifully detailed ethnography of Vancouver’s growing Aboriginal media hub. . . . Dowell convincingly argues that Aboriginal media is an act of visual sovereignty.”—Jennifer Kramer, author of
Switchbacks: Art, Ownership, and Nuxalk National Identity “Nowhere is Aboriginal media more active, more vibrant, and more significant than in Canada. . . . The efforts of small, underfunded, ambitious, and creative groups of filmmakers in Vancouver make for an engaging story. . . . This is a clear, useful, and well-researched book.”—Michael Evans, author of Fast Runner: Filming the Legend of Atanarjuat
Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: Vancouver's Aboriginal Media World1. The Indigenous Media Arts Group2. Canadian Cultural Policy and Aboriginal Media3. Aboriginal Diversity On-Screen4. Building Community Off-Screen5. Cultural Protocol in Aboriginal Media6. Visual Sovereignty in Aboriginal Experimental MediaEpilogueAppendix: Filmmakers and FilmsNotesReferencesIndex
