Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place

Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place

  • Overview
  • Crew

Status

Released

Release Date

Jan 1, 1987

Runtime

0h 29m

Original Title

Poundmaker's Lodge: A Healing Place

Production Companies

ONF | NFB

Director

Alanis Obomsawin

Description

This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin takes us to Poundmaker's Lodge, a treatment centre in St. Albert, Alberta, that welcomes Native people troubled by addiction to drugs and alcohol. Named after a 19th-century Native leader, the centre offers a space where Natives can come together for mutual support, partake in healing rituals like the sweat lodge, and rediscover their traditions. The film shows the despair of a people dispossessed of land, culture, language and dignity, and their strength and courage in overcoming substance abuse.