Categories 2022, Essays

Indigenous Women: Finding Sovereignty in Cinema in Kuessipan

By Emily Thomas

Indigenous film is an up-and-coming genre, and indigenous women are making important contributions to it. This essay analyzes the 2019 film Kuessipan by Canadian filmmaker Myriam Verreault and Innu co-writer Naomi Fontaine and discusses the history of indigenous female representation in film. This essay also explains the concept of representation through polyphony (multivocality), which encourages viewers of this film to feel empathy for Native women. Using a humanist lens, this essay explores the depth of Kuessipan’s female protagonists and explains how the film could serve as a catalyst for change in the real world.

Editor-in-Chief
Jenna Woolley

Project Manager
Sophie Graham

Indigenous-Women_-Finding-Sovereignty-in-Cinema-in-Kuessipan-Aperture-2022.docx

Leading Editor

Emily Colton

Supporting Editors
AJ Migorance

Morgan Beus

Marissa Lundeen

Copyeditor

Fleur Van Woerkom