Filmed in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, Women in the Shadows, follows Christine Welsh's pursuit for self determination through her Native fore-mothers and their history. The documentary features Métis women's experiences with racism in both a historical and modern environment. Welsh encounters reluctance, even outright refusal, from some family members when she starts to examine the relationships and family history that she felt she was 'missing', in her search to reclaim her past and heritage. This film analyzes and portrays how various forces are at play, thrusting many Métis women 'into the shadows'.
Through her documented, autobiographical, journey, Welsh uncovers the name of her great grandmother, Margaret Taylor, and Margaret's mother, Jane. Under the premise that Jane was most likely Cree; her relationship with George Taylor meant that Margaret was one of the first generations of Métis women. In turn, Margaret's 'a la facon du pays' union with Hudson's Bay Company Governor, George Simpson, ensured a traceable history of sorts on record.
The audience is encouraged to observe that while First Nation and Métis women provided their European husbands with familial connections to the Indigenous community, companionship, the skills for survival, they were ultimately treated as commodities. Welsh learns that although her grandmother had been Simpson's "country wife" for many years, he returned from a trip to England with a new white wife, publicly humiliating Margaret. Our guest speaker, Laura Cranmer would encourage the viewer to note, "patriarchal projection of amoral tendencies of Indigenous women cements this stereotype in the Canadian public consciousness of the 1830s and persists in Canadian literature and popular imagination".
Another key idea Laura Cranmer pointed out, is that by 'combining montage, archival records, interviews, dramatic re-enactments, direct address, and juxtaposition Welsh simultaneously disrupts received patriarchal history, while reclaiming and validating the history of her own Indian fore-mothers". Through film-making, authors have access to more mediums to create structure and devices to help put the story together in a unified manner. One can utilize camera angles, shots and music to build or create dramatic devices, such as, the overshadowing, pervasive feeling of shame in this documentary's progression. Thus, lending credence to the idea of impacting the audience and swaying their reception of the documentary. Further more, the film closes with Welsh walking her son through a graveyard, pointing out the graves of deceased family members and telling him stories like, The Last Buffalo Hunter, an oral history by her great-grandfather, that she had never been taught as a child. This dramatic, climatic, heartwarming scene can be labelled an accurate depiction of the primary difference between film-making devices and written storytelling forms.
In critique, the main point of contention is that we can only speculate about the experiences of women like Welsh's fore-mothers. The only documentation we do have is from the perspective of colonial men. This gives cause to ponder the question the validity of accuracy, authenticity, and 'truthfulness' of the story's interpretation. However, while the autobiography serves as a form of storytelling, it definitely interjects a previously unheard, Métis voice, in Canadian history. The audience is invited to follow Welsh's gentle, but persistent, personal journey of self discovery, while acknowledging and recognizing the cultural genocide of many Métis women. By the conclusion, not only does she have more understanding; the audience can empathize with a few of her family member's 'retreat to the shadows', as a consequence of having to deny their heritage in order to survive the undeniable racism present in their every day lives.
Through her documented, autobiographical, journey, Welsh uncovers the name of her great grandmother, Margaret Taylor, and Margaret's mother, Jane. Under the premise that Jane was most likely Cree; her relationship with George Taylor meant that Margaret was one of the first generations of Métis women. In turn, Margaret's 'a la facon du pays' union with Hudson's Bay Company Governor, George Simpson, ensured a traceable history of sorts on record.
The audience is encouraged to observe that while First Nation and Métis women provided their European husbands with familial connections to the Indigenous community, companionship, the skills for survival, they were ultimately treated as commodities. Welsh learns that although her grandmother had been Simpson's "country wife" for many years, he returned from a trip to England with a new white wife, publicly humiliating Margaret. Our guest speaker, Laura Cranmer would encourage the viewer to note, "patriarchal projection of amoral tendencies of Indigenous women cements this stereotype in the Canadian public consciousness of the 1830s and persists in Canadian literature and popular imagination".
Another key idea Laura Cranmer pointed out, is that by 'combining montage, archival records, interviews, dramatic re-enactments, direct address, and juxtaposition Welsh simultaneously disrupts received patriarchal history, while reclaiming and validating the history of her own Indian fore-mothers". Through film-making, authors have access to more mediums to create structure and devices to help put the story together in a unified manner. One can utilize camera angles, shots and music to build or create dramatic devices, such as, the overshadowing, pervasive feeling of shame in this documentary's progression. Thus, lending credence to the idea of impacting the audience and swaying their reception of the documentary. Further more, the film closes with Welsh walking her son through a graveyard, pointing out the graves of deceased family members and telling him stories like, The Last Buffalo Hunter, an oral history by her great-grandfather, that she had never been taught as a child. This dramatic, climatic, heartwarming scene can be labelled an accurate depiction of the primary difference between film-making devices and written storytelling forms.
In critique, the main point of contention is that we can only speculate about the experiences of women like Welsh's fore-mothers. The only documentation we do have is from the perspective of colonial men. This gives cause to ponder the question the validity of accuracy, authenticity, and 'truthfulness' of the story's interpretation. However, while the autobiography serves as a form of storytelling, it definitely interjects a previously unheard, Métis voice, in Canadian history. The audience is invited to follow Welsh's gentle, but persistent, personal journey of self discovery, while acknowledging and recognizing the cultural genocide of many Métis women. By the conclusion, not only does she have more understanding; the audience can empathize with a few of her family member's 'retreat to the shadows', as a consequence of having to deny their heritage in order to survive the undeniable racism present in their every day lives.
