Director Alexandra Lazarowich is making a movie about a successful New York City fashion designer returning home to rural Canada, her fiance in tow.

Except thereB次元官网网址檚 a twist: The fashionista happens to be Cree B次元官网网址� and home is a Northern Alberta reserve.

B次元官网网址淚 wanted to show that Indigenous women can be loved and not end up as just a prop in someoneB次元官网网址檚 film,B次元官网网址� Lazarowich said.

B次元官网网址淭here isnB次元官网网址檛 a romantic comedy which features an Indigenous woman who gets to be in love, stay in love and doesnB次元官网网址檛 come from a completely dysfunctional family.B次元官网网址�

Lazarowich, a Sundance Film Festival award winner, is hopeful her film marks a step in the right direction for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 entertainment industry. She also wants to see progress built from last weekB次元官网网址檚 report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which called on B次元官网网址渁ll governments to adequately fund and support Indigenous-led initiativesB次元官网网址� in media and the arts.

Lazarowich would like to see it lead to a greater commitment to resources for Indigenous stories, but sheB次元官网网址檚 not waiting around for others to shatter damaging stereotypes.

Her project, B次元官网网址�2 Funerals, a Round Dance and a Wedding,B次元官网网址� will cover the romcom genre, and she hopes other creators B次元官网网址� and especially financiers B次元官网网址� take heed and consider venturing into other worlds too.

B次元官网网址淲e need Indigenous people in space,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淲e need Indigenous people in the future.B次元官网网址�

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Research has shown that media representation has a pivotal impact on public perception, especially when it comes to minorities. The fewer examples of visibility there are in Canadian pop culture, the more damaging stereotypical and negative portrayals can be.

Journalist Betty Ann Adam, whose experience as a victim of the Sixties Scoop was outlined in the NFB documentary B次元官网网址淏irth of a Family,B次元官网网址� says the recommendation in the MMIWG report may emphasize too strongly the governmentB次元官网网址檚 responsibility in media.

She says the responsibility must also lie on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 private broadcasters and film distributors to B次元官网网址渢ake actionB次元官网网址� in their own ways.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 incumbent on all Canadian producers, casting directors and music directors at every radio station,B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 just relegate them to the Indigenous Hour.B次元官网网址�

Adrian Sutherland, the lead singer in Attawapiskat-based band Midnight Shine, says he doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe Canada is ready to fully embrace Indigenous artists quite yet, particularly on the music scene where only a few acts have broken into the Canadian mainstream.

His band, which formed in 2011, incorporates his experiences in a northern Ontario community with radio-friendly pop-rock hooks. Despite their best efforts, Midnight Shine continues to exist on the periphery of whatB次元官网网址檚 popular.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e tried to push our music to the big boys, the big broadcasters, and weB次元官网网址檝e spent a tremendous amount of resourcesB次元官网网址� and have got nowhere,B次元官网网址� he says.

B次元官网网址淭here definitely is a shift in peopleB次元官网网址檚 minds, but for actual realB次元官网网址� change, I donB次元官网网址檛 believe that, I think itB次元官网网址檚 garbage. I know how hard weB次元官网网址檝e been working, pushing and pushing, and I donB次元官网网址檛 know what else we could be doing at this point to get more shows. For me, I think itB次元官网网址檚 going to take a little while longer for things to change and really get moving in the right direction.B次元官网网址�

Sutherland hasnB次元官网网址檛 given up, however, and every so often there are glimmers of hope Midnight Shine will break out.

Last year, the bandB次元官网网址檚 cover of Neil YoungB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淗eart of Gold,B次元官网网址� which featured a verse in Mushkegowuk Cree, became their most-streamed song on Spotify. TheyB次元官网网址檙e hoping for similar success with a music video for the single B次元官网网址淟eather Skin.B次元官网网址�

Actor and rapper Ronnie Dean Harris says his own experiences in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 entertainment industry have taught him some important lessons about representation.

Early in his career, he played a rapping meth cook on B次元官网网址淢occasin Flats,B次元官网网址� a 2004 co-production of APTN and Showcase. The TV series captured a bleak picture of drugs and poverty on ReginaB次元官网网址檚 urban reserve, but Harris believes some non-Indigenous viewers without context mightB次元官网网址檝e seen his character merely as a negative stereotype.

B次元官网网址淲e have to think about what weB次元官网网址檙e saying and what effect it has,B次元官网网址� he says.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the symbolism thatB次元官网网址檚 being put out there into the Canadian consciousness that needs to change B次元官网网址� We donB次元官网网址檛 need any more really terrible stories being told, I donB次元官网网址檛 think.B次元官网网址�

These days, Harris says heB次元官网网址檚 focused on projects that fill gaps in representation. HeB次元官网网址檚 interested in documentaries on unexplored perspectives on Canadian history, while he recently lent his voice to the upcoming animated kidsB次元官网网址� series B次元官网网址淢olly of Denali,B次元官网网址� which features a 10-year-old Indigenous girl as the titular character.

And heB次元官网网址檚 got other ideas in his head too, like a buddy cop film with an Indigenous lead, and an ensemble piece similar to B次元官网网址淪uperbad,B次元官网网址� but set on a reserve.

Lazarowich B次元官网网址� whose forthcoming romantic comedy will break similar barriers B次元官网网址� says there continues to be a B次元官网网址渟ystemic problem in a lot of the artB次元官网网址� that winds up playing in theatres, on television and streaming platforms.

Stories told by non-Indigenous creators often end up B次元官网网址渓acking so muchB次元官网网址� context, she says, at times representing tired stereotypes or leaning too heavily on storylines of misfortune.

B次元官网网址淢y nieces and nephews donB次元官网网址檛 have that many Indigenous people to look up to as heroes, and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 a really important thing growing up,B次元官网网址� says the director of B次元官网网址淔ast Horse,B次元官网网址� which picked up the short film jury prize at Sundance in January.

B次元官网网址淲ho we are is joy, and sometimes tragedy, and we need to see the full spectrum on the big screen.B次元官网网址�

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David Friend, The Canadian Press

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