2023-24 Reporting on the Calls for Justice: 6.1: Media and Social Influencers

On March 14, 2024, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced permanent funding to support Indigenous-led storytelling through the Indigenous Screen Office. This includes $65 million over five years starting in 2024–25 and $13 million per year ongoing.

The ISO directly responds to Call for Justice 6.1 by funding Indigenous audiovisual projects in any format for distribution on any platform. By funding these projects, the ISO increases the number of authentic Indigenous stories that can be told and seen, including the stories of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. All of the development and production projects supported by the ISO are Indigenous-led and serve to increase the number of authentic Indigenous voices in the audiovisual sector.

For example, Bones of Crows (2023) is the first Indigenous- and female-led mini-series and feature film about the residential school experience in North America and received funding from the Indigenous Screen Office and several other partners. Bones of Crows was written, directed, and produced by Marie Clements, a Métis creator, and features several notable Indigenous actors in its cast, including Grace Dove, Cara Gee, Glen Gould, and Gail Maurice. It is available on CBC gem and APTN lumi.

Similarly, Little Bird (2023) is an Indigenous-led series co-created by Jennifer Podemski and directed by notable Indigenous creators Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Zoe Leigh Hopkins. This series follows an Indigenous woman on a journey to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her past and was made available on Crave, a mainstream streaming platform.

Other notable projects supported by the Indigenous Screen Office include Night Raiders (2021), a critically acclaimed sci-fi dystopian film directed by Danis Goulet, a Cree-Métis director and writer; Slash/Back (2022), an Inuit sci-fi horror film directed by Nyla Innuksuk and set in Nunavut; and Dear Flora (2022), a miniseries produced by Jason Brennan of Nish Media (Anishinabeg) that explores the reality of residential schools in Quebec.

In 2022, the Indigenous Screen Office partnered with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and released a report from the consultants at Archipel Research and Consulting Inc., entitled Building Trust and Accountability: Report on Eligibility in the Indigenous Screen Sector. This important work supports self-determination and explores decolonizing sector practices in Indigenous identity eligibility. The findings of this report were used in creating the Indigenous Screen Office Determining Indigenous Identity Guide.

Canadian Heritage contracted two research reports to address a lack of disaggregated data in the Indigenous audiovisual sector. These reports created awareness of solid data that assisted in evidence-based policymaking. The first report assessed the economic impact of the Indigenous audiovisual sector, using indicators such as gross domestic product and employment. The second report investigated the additional potential costs associated with implementing Indigenous screen-based production protocols.

The Indigenous Screen Office head office is now located in Ohsweken, Ontario, a community within the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Lead Department: Canadian Heritage
Funding Amount: $40.1 million for 2021-2023; $65 million for 2024-2029 and $13 million per year ongoing
Funding Source: Budget 2021 and Budget 2024
Partners: National Indigenous Organizations; Indigenous stakeholders and partners
Related Calls for Miskotahâ: 21
Related Calls for Justice: 2.7