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In her first feature-length documentary, released in 1977, Alanis Obomsawin honours the central place of women and mothers within Indigenous cultures. An album of Indigenous womanhood, the film portrays proud matriarchal cultures that for centuries have been pressured to adopt the standards and customs of the dominant society.  Tracing the cycle of Indigenous women's lives from birth to childhood, puberty, young adulthood, maturity and old age, the film reveals how Indigenous women have fought to regain a sense of equality, instilled cultural pride in their children and passed on their stories and language to new generations.

1977, 57 min 50 s

Mère de tant d'enfants

Grand Prize of the Festival
International Festival of Films on the Arctic
June 3 to 5 1983, Dieppe - France

Best Semi-Documentary Award
Annual American Indian Film Festival
May 11 to 13 1978, San Francisco - USA