In Brief Beans catches best film nod Beans, the acclaimed film by Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer, picked up five nominations for the Canadian Screen Awards â including for best motion picture, achievement in cinematography, achievement in casting, achievement in sound mixing, and best first feature film award. The film looks at the 1990 Oka Crisis through the eyes of 12-year-old Beans as she learns that a golf course is to be expanded onto Mohawk burial grounds next to the community of Kanesatake. As the protest grows against the golf site, Quebec provincial police and eventually the Canadian Army are called in, and the incident escalates into what is known as the Oka Crisis. Beans is the first fiction film by Deer, who has made documentaries in the past. The film was released March 30 in Canada. The Canadian Screen Awards will be announced May 17-20.
Indigenous youth tell Biden to stop pipelines On April 1, Indigenous youth travelled to Washington, D.C., for a series of protests to urge US President Joe Biden to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the Line 3 pipeline. Over 400,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw its permit for the Line 3 pipeline, which runs from Alberta to Wisconsin.
Enbridge filed an application in 2014 to build a new route for the Line 3 pipeline which would allow it to increase oil volume, but the project has since ignited numerous protests from Indigenous communities along the proposed path. Similarly, the DAPL, which would run from North Dakota to Illinois, has also inspired protests, including an action camp on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in 2016. Indigenous groups have said the pipelines will worsen the climate crisis and threaten supplies of clean water.
Recent killings and attempted murders spark outcry The Federation of Womenâs Shelters in Quebec, or FMHF for its French acronym, is denouncing recent violence against women. In a statement, the FMHF expressed its âangerâ at the death and attempted murder of two women in recent weeks. Montreal police reported that two bodies which were found dead in a taxicab were the result of domestic violence. Itâs believed that a 52-year-old man killed his 40-year-old wife before taking his own life. The man was
This was the yearâs seventh murder in Montreal, and the sixth case of femicide in Quebec. found in the driverâs seat and the woman was in the passengerâs seat. This was the yearâs seventh murder in Montreal, and the sixth case of femicide in Quebec. Montreal police were also investigating another case in which a 29-year-old woman was sent to the hospital in critical condition. Her 32-year-old partner was arrested after a call to 911. Two other women, both related, were also killed in the Laurentian town of Sainte-Sophie March 2. On Twitter, Montreal Mayor ValĂ©rie Plante said, âIt has to stop. This violence against women is unacceptable.â Earlier in March, Premier François Legault also called on men to stop committing violent acts against women. The FMHF reported that the 36 shelters they represent across Quebec supported 300 women who had experienced attempted murder in 2019 and 2020, and said that 30% of women had been harassed and 20% had received death threats.
The federation said that recent separation, harassment, a history of violence, and a loss of control were all factors to be recognized and taken seriously. They also said that Covid deconfinement could exacerbate many of these issues, resulting in a loss of control for violent spouses. The FMHF called for government action in providing health care, justice, police, social services as well as accessible accommodation when leaving oneâs home. âViolence against women is manifold and requires a transversal and comprehensive approach, in line with the Action Plan on conjugal violence,â the organization said in a statement. The FMHF reported that its shelters provide housing for nearly 3,000 women and 1,500 children, while answering over 50,000 calls and 175,000 individual follow-ups. Across the Cree communities, there are two womenâs shelters, one coastal and one inland.
www.nationnews.ca April 9, 2021
the Nation 9
