Sugarcane – Film Reveiw
by Frank L.

Directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Noisecat

In 1981, St. Joseph’s Indian School near Williams Lake in British Columbia closed. The school lies right beside the Sugarcane First Nation reserve and is one of many such institutions. Their purpose was to reconfigure the children of First Nation Indigenous families by a variety of strategies. In particular, the children were physically forced to live far from their families and were entirely divorced from them. They were forbidden to speak their own language. They were indoctrinated into the Roman Catholic faith by the nuns and priests who ran St.Joseph’s. The ghastly consequences of such a brutal regime inevitably persist in the daily lives of those who survived but the consequences have a profound effect on subsequent generations as this documentary shows.

Other aspects of daily life in the schools have come to light which are more sinister. There are a wide variety of accusations including Child sexual abuse and infanticide. It is a catalogue of unremitting grimness. What makes the documentary palatable to watch is the calm manner in which Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Nosecat tell the story. Julian’s father Ed Archie Nosecat is a survivor of the institution. Charlene Belleau, an elder in the Williams Lake community, dispassionately shows the evidence of what happened as a result of careful investigation of documentary records, the surrounding grounds and the DNA of the survivors. As a result, it is clear that some of the priests were involved in these crimes. The names prominently include Irish ones such as McGrath and O’Connor. After the revelations of the last 30 years that comes as no surprise.

What makes this haunting documentary so gripping is that the story is told from the survivors’ point of view and their unrelenting, detailed and harrowing work, with professional help, to find out the truth. Belleau and Julian Brave Nosecat remain dignified as they disclose more of what happened. It is a complex story which has many strands but the directors keep it together. In recent times officialdom throughout the Christian world has had to come to terms with the horrors of certain institutions run by religious institutions. Therefore it is no surprise to see Justin Trudeau and Pope France make apologies. However, the apologies seem entirely inadequate given the sheer breadth of what occurred.

Another strength of the documentary is the beautiful cinematography which makes the harsh regime of St. Joseph’s even more malignant. It also shows the cultural diversity and richness of those who have survived.  Throughout the film, there is a magnificent haunting soundtrack which adds greatly to the sense of tragic betrayal and loss.

Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Noisecat have deservedly won many directorial awards at international film festivals for this serious and disturbing documentary. It makes for harrowing viewing but that is of little consequence when you try to fathom what the inmates of St. Joseph’s endured. Sadly it was not a unique institution.