Powwow way of life showcased in full-length movie debut for First Nations director

Hayley Morin remembers that a few of her fondest childhood reminiscences embody attending the annual powwow on her First Nation. Morin, 29, is a member of Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta.

Though she has produced numerous quick movies throughout her profession, Morin is happy concerning the upcoming launch of her full-length movie as a director. Her movie, Under The Arbor, will premiere throughout Canada on CBC Gem beginning on Aug. 15. 

And those that dwell in Alberta and British Columbia will be capable to watch the movie on their native CBC Television channels on Aug. 16.

The movie follows dancers, singers, performers and households who participate in powwows in Alberta.

“My family wasn’t the most involved in powwow growing up,” Morin mentioned. “We were pretty affected by residential schools and colonialism through my kookums (grandmothers) and mushums (grandfathers). So, unfortunately with my family, we didn’t speak our language. We didn’t participate in powwows.”

Her early publicity to powwow was as a spectator at Enoch.

“It always was one of my favourite memories as a child,” Morin mentioned. “As I grew older and into my early teen years, I found an interest in dancing myself. So, I did a bit of women’s traditional dancing when I was about 11 to 14.”

But she by no means competed in powwow. Instead, Morin was eager to inform the tales of those that have been concerned.

Footage for her newest movie, which was shot throughout July and August 2024, was captured at powwows on the Enoch Cree Nation, Tsuut’ina Nation and Samson Cree Nation.

Morin mentioned she has two major objectives for the movie.

“The biggest one for me was just to be able to pay a lot of love and a lot of homage to this community that is so special to not only me but to many First Nations people,” she mentioned. “I think being able to show us in a way that we’ve never really been able to be shown before is really important.”

And she, wished to introduce others to Indigenous cultural celebrations.

“I also hope that people who aren’t familiar with the powwow scene or they may have never been able to go to one themselves, they’re able to learn about the tradition, something that happens every single year pretty much very, very close to them,” she mentioned. “And I hope that it just spurs them to want to be able to check out one around them and join the circle.”

Morin mentioned that through the temporary intervals she was a dancer herself she didn’t understand how a lot passive data she gained simply being across the powwow circle.

“So, going back and doing the film, it was a really great experience because being back around the drum, being around the dancers, it really just reminded me of how much it actually was a part of my childhood without me really being that involved,” she mentioned.

“Being able to kind of reconnect to that part of my life and being able to learn more educationally about what was happening, like learning the significance of the dances, learning the difference between the songs and how to be able to tell the different beats. Being able to just come at it from a more, I guess, proper way of education was just really beneficial to me and made me realize how much it actually was a part of my life.”

Under The Arbor enabled Morin to strive one thing completely different – directing a full-length movie.

“Being in that position was definitely a very different place for me,” she mentioned. “Most of my career up into this point has been producing documentary shorts. And in the last couple of years I’ve gotten into producing narrative features as well. So, being able to return to directing, being able to have it through the powwow scene and have this sort of be my first full-length film was super special. And it made it feel so much more important to return to directing to tell a story like this.”

Morin mentioned she thinks shorts will all the time be part of her life. “But I’m very excited to sort of focus on features for the next couple years.”

Under The Arbor consists of some notable performers, together with singer/songwriter Fawn Wood and the drum group Cree Confederation.

Wood, a Cree and Salish performer from the northeastern Alberta city of St. Paul, gained a Juno Award in 2022 within the Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year class.

“It was huge,” Morin mentioned of getting the favored singer in her movie. 

“Fawn Wood is a super iconic and legendary musician, not only in the powwow scene but the Indigenous music scene in general.”

Cree Confederation has been nominated for each Juno and Grammy awards.

Local Journalism Initiative Reporters are supported by a monetary contribution made by the Government of Canada.