Ten strangers unite to conquer a grueling 750 miles cross-country wilderness expedition that pushes bodies and minds to the extreme. They’ll paddle, portage, and hike through treacherous waterways and unforgiving terrain across the York Factory Express, an historic fur trade route legendary for its danger, isolation and beauty, with only 28 days to complete their journey.
The chaotic and violent struggle to control wealth and power in the North American fur trade in late 18th century Canada. Told from multiple perspectives, Frontier takes place in a world where business negotiations might be resolved with close-quarter hatchet fights, and where delicate relations between native tribes and Europeans can spark bloody conflicts.
With "sealfies" and social media, a new tech-savvy generation of Inuit is wading into the world of activism, using humour and reason to confront aggressive animal rights vitriol and defend their traditional hunting practices. Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins her fellow Inuit activists as they challenge outdated perceptions of Inuit and present themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.
Part of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine's happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.
A young Ojibwa girl from 1770 marries a Scottish fur trader and leaves home for the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union is beneficial for her tribe, it results in hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of a dream Ikwe once had unfold with tragic clarity.
Set in 1815, this is the dramatic story of a child of the fur trade, son of a Native mother and a Scottish-Canadian fur trader. John Mackenzie's father is a wintering partner of the Montréal-based North West Company, which was for decades the wealthiest merchant enterprise in North America. To mark his entry into adulthood, twelve-year-old John is travelling for the first time to Fort William, the Company's lavish winter headquarters by Lake Superior. In following his journey, the film reveals the complex network of people--Scottish, French and Native Canadian--that made up fur-trading society and gave a unique flavor to the opening up of Canada's northwest.
The fur trade is Canada's oldest industry, but today some people challenge the morality of killing animals for their fur. This film examines the public relations war raging between the industry and its opponents and takes an objective look at the ethical, environmental and economic issues raised by the debate. The struggle to win over public opinion has been joined by Indigenous peoples in Canada who fear that their way of life will be jeopardized if the fur industry is destroyed. The cycle of the industry is followed from the trapper's bush camp and the fur ranch to the final sale of a coat in the furrier's salon. Throughout the film, the conflicting opinions of fur industry representatives, animal rights activists and Indigenous people challenge the viewer to consider all aspects of this complex debate. —NFB
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