Sara Roque (d. 7 June 2023) is a Métis/Ojibwe filmmaker and activist. She was a mixed-heritage Anishinaabekwe woman from the community of Shebahonaning (known as Killarney, Ontario) and lived in Toronto. She co-founded O'Kaadenigan Weengashk,[1] an indigenous women's art collective, in 2004.
Career
As Indigenous Arts Officer at the Ontario Arts Council, Roque worked for ten years mentoring artists and advocating across the province and nationally, building innovative programs, policies and protocols with Indigenous peoples.
Roque was a longterm member of the Indigenous Education Council[2] at OCAD University, a founding member of O'Kaadenigan Wiingashk,[3] an Indigenous women's arts collective (Peterborough) and The Good Medicine Collective[4] (Toronto).
The 'Seeds of Change' collection, co-curated in 2008 by Roque and Nêhiyaw artist and curator Elwood Jimmy, is a gallery of artworks by Indigenous women and 2 spirits for Women's College Hospital,[5] which became "an important addition to Indigenous Health education at WCH", showcasing "the power of Indigenous art to not only create a more welcoming space for Indigenous patients, health care providers and students but to assert Indigenous world views on medicine and healing in the Western health care system."[6]
In 2010 Roque directed Six Miles Deep - a groundbreaking film about the work of female community leaders during the 2006 Caledonia blockade. The film details the communities' struggle to resist real-estate development on land formally granted to them under the 1784 Haldimand Proclamation.
Six Miles Deep
The Haldimand Proclamation was negotiated by Joseph Brant for the Six Nations on October 25, 1784, in gratitude for native support of Britain against the American revolutionaries. It promised the lands six miles deep from each side of the river beginning at Lake Erie forever: "I have at the earnest desire of many of these His Majesty's faithful Allies purchased a tract of land from the Indians situated between the Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, and I do hereby in His Majesty's name authorize and permit the said Mohawk Nation and such others of the Six Nation Indians as wish to settle in that quarter to take possession of and settle upon the Banks of the River commonly called Ouse or Grand River, running into Lake Erie, allotting to them for that purpose six miles deep from each side of the river beginning at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the head of the said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy for ever."[7] Further details can be found at the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council[8] (HCCC), and at Six Nations[9] land rights.
The Caledonia Blockade in 2006 also known as the Grand River land dispute made national[10] and international headlines[11] for its peaceful and persistent refusal. There are 28 land claims by Six Nations still outstanding.
Sara Roque worked with women leadership of the Six Nations to film Six Miles Deep, a documentary witnessing their collective resistance to attempted land dispossession.
Awards
2010 DOXA Documentary Film Festival - Honourable Mention for the Colin Low Award for Six Miles Deep
The Office National du Filme & National Film Board of Canada produced a Study Guide on Six Miles Deep as part of their Reconciliation through Film programme: https://www3.onf.ca/sg/100610.pdf
Impact
Six Miles Deep brought national attention to the 2006 Caledonia Blocade and centred on the models of female Indigenous leadership, which had been historically dismantled by colonisers as they arrived in Ontario.
The film forms part of many film programmes nationally as part of the prestigious Universities Study Guide.[12]
Various screenings included the Coady Institute,[13] OCAD University[14] and the Gimme Some Truth Festival - "Six Miles Deep is an inspiring and compelling portrait of a group of women whose actions have led a cultural re-awakening in their traditionally matriarchal community".[15]
References
- ^ "O' Kaadenigan Wiingashk: About Us". publicenergy.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Ocad University: Indigenous Education Council". www.ocadu.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "O' Kaadenigan Wiingashk: About Us". publicenergy.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "GOOD MEDICINE COLLECTIVE". GOOD MEDICINE COLLECTIVE. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Seeds of Change Gallery". Centre for Wise Practices. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ roberta (2022-11-04). "Good Medicine - Article". UofTMed magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Six Nations Lands and Resources". www.sixnations.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ Communications. "Home". Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Land Rights - Six Nations of the Grand River". www.sixnations.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Blockade closes portion of Highway Six in Caledonia". Kitchener. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Is Canada a Metis Civilization? Part 2: "Six Miles Deep — Forever"". Crescent International. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "THR Reconciliation Through Film: Six MIles Deep - Canadian Unitarian Council Conseil unitarien du Canada". cuc.ca. 2020-09-06. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Six Miles Deep - Coady Institute". https://coady.stfx.ca/. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
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- ^ "Culture Shifts Presents "Six Miles Deep" | OCAD University". www.ocadu.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "6 miles deep at Gimme Some Truth Documentary Festival 2010". 22 November 2023.