nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

I went in hoping for this to be a non biased account of what happened. However, I was sorely disappointed. This "documentary" portrayed the deceased and his accomplices as absolute angels, who were terrorized and hunted down by the evil white farmer. They weren't on his property trying to get help. They were robbing him, and they tried to run over his wife. Complete waste of time.

This documentary followed closely the real and dangerous nature that racism inflicts upon First Nations in Canada through the justice system. The film was personally moving and heart-wrenching as a First Nation myself, I could interrelate to story to my own family and friends. The mainstream media during the trial had painted Colton Boushie with negative stereotypes, the same paintbrush they seem to color all First Nations. 'We Will Stand Up' allowed Colton's spirit to live strong, and leave a legacy we could all get behind as Canadians. The criminal system failed Colton, thereby failing all First Nations in Canada. This is a story that needs to be seen by all, especially those live in the rural prairies of Canada, and those who personally sided with Mr. Stanley.

The documentary was as one sided at the trial. I am not suggesting justice was served and I suspect the legal system did a huge injustice to Colton's family. However, I know the area and wonder how many times has Gerald's farm had been robbed or vandalized? If you were going in a yard to seek help, why would you break a rifle trying to bust a door down or jump on a quad. What makes a person who has never been in trouble with the law get a gun instead of calling the police? To me the film only told one side of the story (which is factual), but failed to show both sides of the story. I think it only throws fuel to the racism fire, which we all know I exists.

A deeply moving documentary about the tragic case of Colten Boushie, a young Cree man who was shot and killed by a farmer in rural Saskatchewan in 2016, a tragedy compounded when the farmer was found not guilty at his murder trial. The racism at each and every step along the way - the execution style killing with the words "that's what you get for trespassing," the shoddy police work that included not investigating for a full day while the victim lay out in the rain and harassing the family in their own home (the victim's family!), the racist jury selection that excluded every indigenous candidate, the online bile and hatred towards the family that had just suffered a horrific loss, the weak prosecution of the case, the verdict announced with one juror smiling at the defendant - it all speaks to the very definition of systemic racism.

I loved how Tasha Hubbard gave us a brief account of 19th century history to provide context, and how she allowed the viewer to connect the dots to the present day. The supreme irony of farmers defending their land so ruthlessly when it was essentially taken 150 years earlier, and treating indigenous people as if they were coyotes that could be shot and disposed of is not lost. She gives us a window into the culture and the grief of family members, and it's hard not to get emotional watching this film. I would have liked to have seen more of the farmer's side of the story (or the prosecutors, or the cops, or a jury member, etc), but ultimately I don't feel as though what I watched was overly biased. If anything, it's a triumph of standing up for a perspective that has long been underrepresented, with the result that the system and the colonial attitudes really haven't changed since the time of Treaty 6. (I'm making a massive generalization here, so debate me if you feel I'm wrong).

We do at least hear the farmers venting their frustrations at a public meeting, though their claim that this had nothing to do with race is ludicrous. (You're going to tell me after reading those tweets and seeing that jury selection that it's not about race? That if it had been a young white man on the property it would have been the same outcome?) We also hear Hubbard's own adoptive grandfather (a white farmer) speak in a rather remarkable scene towards the end. He's giving her the stones that he's saved from a field that he cleared so that he could plant wheat years ago, and while he was conflicted at the time because he knew they were used by indigenous people, did it anyway. He also at least raises with question, what are farmers supposed to do to protect themselves - but his great-grandchild has a perfect answer, not shoot people. And that's the thing, the punishment here for whatever infraction had been committed should not have been death at the hands of a vigilante, as if he was an animal.

Last note, and maybe easy to forget given the film's content - the cinematography is truly beautiful here, sometimes breathtaking. I loved the soundtrack too. The quality of the filmmaking keeps up with the emotions that are stirred up. Essential viewing.

Criminals presented as victims and vice versa. Very subjective side of the story. After watching this "movie", I wonder why the government wasted the money for making such a thing.