''We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice'' is a 2016 Canadian documentary film by

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki people, Abenaki American Canadian, American-Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised prima ...

about the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

activist Cindy Blackstock and her court case against the federal government of Canada for underfunding social services to children living on

First Nations reserves In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Res ...

. The film details how the federal government has resisted applying

Jordan's Principle Jordan's Principle is a child-first and needs-based principle used in public policy and administration in Canada to ensure that First Nations children living on and off reserve have equitable access to all government funded public services. It ...

to restitution efforts. Also appearing in the film is

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (, AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations ( Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood ...

lawyer David Nahwegahbow, who describes the government's efforts to avoid living up to its agreements with Indigenous peoples. To make the film, Obomsawin followed the case for six years, recording testimony from all sides. ''We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice'' is the 49th film that Obomsawin has directed for the National Film Board of Canada—with her 50th, ''Norway House'', in production.

Release

The film premiered at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

."Scenes from TIFF, Day 4: Bearing witness to films that tell the truth"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', September 11, 2016. Subsequent Canadian film festival screenings included the 2016

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First People ...

References

External links

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''We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice''
watch on-line at NFB.ca 2016 films 2016 documentary films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Alanis Obomsawin National Film Board of Canada documentaries Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada Documentary films about law Canadian Aboriginal and indigenous law 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films English-language documentary films 2016 in Canada {{2010s-Canada-documentary-film-stub