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Alien Thunder

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The Northern or Northwestern is a genre in various arts that tell stories set primarily in the late 19th or early 20th century in the north of North America , primarily in western Canada but also in Alaska . It is similar to the Western genre , but many elements are different, as appropriate to its setting. It is common for the central character to be a Mountie instead of a cowboy or sheriff . Other common characters include fur trappers and traders, lumberjacks , prospectors , First Nations people, outlaws, settlers, and townsfolk.

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84-447: Alien Thunder (also known as Dan Candy's Law ) is a 1974 Canadian Northern film directed by Claude Fournier and starring Donald Sutherland , Gordon Tootoosis , Chief Dan George , Kevin McCarthy , and Francine Racette . Its original screenplay was written by W.O. Mitchell but Mitchell removed his name from the final release due to changes that were made. The movie is based on

168-461: A okimahkan . loosely translated as "war chief". This office was different from that of the "peace chief", a leader who had a role more like that of diplomat. In the run-up to the 1885 North-West Rebellion , Big Bear was the leader of his band, but once the fighting started Wandering Spirit became war leader. There have been several attempts to create a national political organization that would represent all Cree peoples, at least as far back as

252-924: A 1994 gathering at the Opaskwayak Cree First Nation reserve. The name "Cree" is derived from the Algonkian -language exonym Kirištino˙ , which the Ojibwa used for tribes around Hudson Bay . The French colonists and explorers, who spelled the term Kilistinon , Kiristinon , Knisteneaux , Cristenaux , and Cristinaux , used the term for numerous tribes which they encountered north of Lake Superior, in Manitoba, and west of there. The French used these terms to refer to various groups of peoples in Canada, some of which are now better distinguished as Severn Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), who speak dialects different from

336-578: A Métis as "a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation". At one time the Cree lived in northern Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. Today, American Cree are enrolled in the federally recognized Chippewa Cree tribe, located on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation , and in minority as "Landless Cree" on

420-526: A Western but changed the location to capitalize on the contemporary gold rush. Charlie Chaplin's 1925 film The Gold Rush is a comedy that parodies some of the cliches of the Northern genre. The Looney Tunes character Blacque Jacque Shellacque , who first appeared in the 1959 short Bonanza Bunny , is another parody. While the Hollywood Western began to change in the post-World War II era and

504-512: A cavalry charge in the film. Alien Thunder was filmed in Saskatchewan at Battleford , Duck Lake , St. Isidore de Bellevue , and Saskatoon . During filming, Sutherland hired a local woman who ran a coffee shop in Bellevue to cook for him during the production, as there were few options for eating out in the small town. Sutherland and Racette met on the filming of the movie. They married after

588-491: A common enough feature to become a synonym for the genre, with Northern films sometimes called "Mountie films". Their popularity was not confined to film; by 1930, 75 volumes of written Mountie fiction had been published, not including juvenile fiction and material published in magazines. Where a protagonist in a Western is often part of both civilization and the wild (whether native or criminal), Mounties in Northerns are entirely

672-472: A common feature too. Dogs and dog sleds were popularized by The Call of the Wild and White Fang . Scenes involving attacks by bears date back to The Klondyke Nugget . The primary antagonist in a Northern can be the wilderness, the weather and other natural elements, which the protagonists must endure, overcome and survive. Northerns often explore the 'Matter of Canada' (the national mythos of Canada, after

756-685: A fugitive takes place across the Canadian wilderness and may be resolved non-violently. According to Pierre Berton "the French-Canadian was to the northerns what the Mexican was to the Westerns — an exotic primitive, adaptable as a chameleon to play a hero or a heavy." French-Canadians were a ubiquitous element of the genre. As characters, French-Canadians are typically depicted as rustic and uneducated. These characters were usually divided into two broad types:

840-509: A part of civilization. The nature of fictional Mounties can vary depending on the nationality of the author. Mounties as written by British authors are often younger members of upper class British families serving the British Empire in the colonies. American-authored Mounties are often little different from US Marshalls and project the values of Westerns in that they place their individual sense of justice and conscience above their duty to

924-459: A part of the Canadian Northern, though individual lawbreakers or uprisings by Canadians feature in works such as Quebec (1951), Riel (1979), and Northwest Mounted Police (1940). In Northerns and wider crime fiction, the general Canadian preference is for law enforcement to be performed by the state rather than vigilantes or private investigators. Likewise, Northerns rarely feature

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1008-412: A simplification of identity, and it has become "fashionable" for bands in many parts of Saskatchewan to identify as "Plains Cree" at the expense of a mixed Cree-Salteaux history. There is also a tendency for bands to recategorize themselves as "Plains Cree" instead of Woods Cree or Swampy Cree. Neal McLeod argues this is partly due to the dominant culture's fascination with Plains Indian culture as well as

1092-609: A tribal council of seven Swampy Cree First Nations across northern Manitoba and is based in The Pas . The Chemawawin Cree Nation (also Rocky Cree) are based on their reserve Chemawawin 2, adjacent to Easterville, Manitoba , 200 kilometres (120 mi) southeast of The Pas. Mathias Colomb First Nation (also Rocky Cree) is located in the community of Pukatawagan on the Pukatawagan 198 reserve. Misipawistik Cree Nation (also Rocky Cree)

1176-712: A true story from the North-West Territories in the 1890s after the North-West Rebellion . A young Woods Cree man named Almighty Voice ( Gordon Tootoosis in his first film role) is arrested by the North-West Mounted Police . Reacting to comments by officer Dan Candy (played by Donald Sutherland ), he breaks out of imprisonment and kills Sergeant Malcolm Grant (played by Kevin McCarthy ) under desperate circumstances. Candy then spends two years hunting for Almighty Voice, but becomes disenchanted with

1260-1037: Is a combination of a Cree reserved land (TC) and a Cree village municipality (VC), both with the same name. Moose Cree ( Cree : Mōsonī or Ililiw ), also known as Moosonee are located in Northeastern Ontario . Constance Lake First Nation is the only Cree member of Matawa First Nations . They are located on their reserves, Constance Lake 92 and English River 66 , in the Cochrane District , Ontario. Mushkegowuk Council , based in Moose Factory, Ontario , represents chiefs from seven First Nations across Ontario. Moose Cree members are: Chapleau Cree First Nation , Kashechewan First Nation , Missanabie Cree First Nation , Moose Cree First Nation , and Taykwa Tagamou Nation . The Chapleau Cree First Nation and their two reserves, Chapleau Cree Fox Lake and Chapleau 75 , are located outside of Chapleau, Ontario in

1344-486: Is a group of people claiming descent from the same common ancestor; each clan would have a representative and a vote in all important councils held by the band (compare: Anishinaabe clan system ). Each band remained independent of each other. However, Cree-speaking bands tended to work together and with their neighbours against outside enemies. Those Cree who moved onto the Great Plains and adopted bison hunting , called

1428-553: Is acknowledged by academics that all bands are ultimately of mixed heritage and multilingualism and multiculturalism was the norm. In the West, mixed bands of Cree, Saulteaux, Métis, and Assiniboine, all partners in the Iron Confederacy , are the norm. However, in recent years, as indigenous languages have declined across western Canada where there were once three languages spoken on a given reserve, there may now only be one. This has led to

1512-485: Is also a major difference in grammatical vocabulary (particles) between the groups. Within both groups, another set of variations has arisen around the pronunciation of the Proto-Algonquian phoneme *l , which can be realized as /l/, /r/, /y/, /n/, or /ð/ (th) by different groups. Yet in other dialects, the distinction between /eː/ (ē) and /iː/ (ī) has been lost, merging to the latter. In more western dialects,

1596-529: Is an enclave of Schefferville. The other, Lac-John , is 2 km (1.2 mi) outside the town. Première Nation des Innus de Nutashkuan is based on their reserve of Natashquan 1 or Nutashkuan. The reserve is located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the mouth of the Natashquan River . Montagnais de Pakua Shipi  [ fr ] located in the community of Pakuashipi , Quebec, on

1680-646: Is based in Gillam , 248 kilometres (154 mi) northeast of Thompson via Provincial Road 280 (PR 280) , and has several reserves along the Nelson River . Shamattawa First Nation is located on their reserve, Shamattawa 1, on the banks of the Gods River where the Echoing River joins. The community is very remote; only connected via air or via winter ice roads to other First Nation communities. The Tataskweyak Cree Nation

1764-463: Is based on the reserve of York Landing, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Split Lake via ferry. York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading post, established in 1684, on the shore of Hudson Bay, at the mouth of the Hayes River . In 1956, the trading post was closed and the community was moved inland to the current site. Swampy Cree Tribal Council is, as the name suggests,

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1848-564: Is composed of three Atikamekw First Nations. The council is based in La Tuque, Quebec . The Atikamekw are inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan ("Our Land"), in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley. The First Nations: Eeyou Istchee is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec represented by the Grand Council of the Crees . On 24 July 2012,

1932-582: Is in the Missanabie , Ontario area. The Moose Cree First Nation is based in Moose Factory in the Cochrane District. Moose Factory was founded in 1672–1673 by Charles Bayly , the first overseas governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and was the company's second post. It was the first English settlement in what is now Ontario. The Nation has two reserves: Factory Island 1 on Moose Factory Island , an island in

2016-554: Is lacking and characters are generally underdeveloped, as is the tension between the Mounties and the Indians.", stated Natalie Edwards for Cinema Canada. The film was criticised upon release. Michael Walsh, film critic for The Province in Vancouver, wrote: Alien Thunder , one of the most costly movies ever made in this country, was a project of epic potential and lofty ambition. That

2100-742: Is located at Fort Albany, Ontario, on the southern shore of the Albany River at James Bay. The reserve, Fort Albany 67, is shared with the Kashechewan First Nation. The Attawapiskat First Nation is located at mouth of the Attawapiskat River on James Bay. The community is on the Attawapiskat 91A reserve. The Attawapiskat 91 reserve is 27,000 hectares (67,000 acres) on both shores of the Ekwan River , 165 kilometres (103 mi) upstream from

2184-516: Is located in the Naskapi village of Kawawachikamach, 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Schefferville , Quebec. The village is in the reserve of the same name . The Mushuau Innu First Nation , located in the community of Natuashish , Newfoundland and Labrador, is located in the Natuashish 2 reserve on the coast of Labrador . Innus of Ekuanitshit live on their reserve of Mingan, Quebec , at

2268-578: Is located in the community of Split Lake, Manitoba within the Split Lake 171 reserve, 144 kilometres (89 mi) northeast of Thompson on PR 280, on the lake of the same name on the Nelson River system. War Lake First Nation possess several reserves but are located on the Mooseocoot reserve in the community of Ilford, Manitoba , 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of York Landing. York Factory First Nation

2352-483: Is located near Grand Rapids, Manitoba , 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of Winnipeg at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River as it runs into Lake Winnipeg. Mosakahiken Cree Nation (also Rocky Cree) is located around the community of Moose Lake about 63 kilometres (39 mi) southeast of The Pas on their main reserve, Moose Lake 31A. Opaskwayak Cree Nation (also Rocky Cree) has several reserves but most of

2436-423: Is located on the north shore of Reindeer Lake close to the Saskatchewan border. It has one reserve, Brochet 197, 256 kilometres (159 mi) northwest of Thompson, adjoining the village of Brochet . The Bunibonibee Cree Nation is located along the eastern shoreline of Oxford Lake at the headwaters of the Hayes River . The Nation controls several reserves with the main reserve being Oxford House 24 adjacent to

2520-466: Is not so much a language, as a chain of dialects, where speakers from one community can very easily understand their neighbours, but a Plains Cree speaker from Alberta would find a Quebec Cree speaker difficult to speak to without practice." One major division between the groups is that the Eastern group palatalizes the sound /k/ to either /ts/ (c) or to /tʃ/ (č) when it precedes front vowels . There

2604-633: Is owned by twelve First Nations of which three are Swampy Cree. Cumberland House Cree Nation is based in Cumberland House, Saskatchewan on the Cumberland House Cree Nation 20 reserve, 97 kilometres (60 mi) southwest of Flin Flon , Manitoba. Cumberland House , founded in 1774 by Samuel Hearne , was the site of the HBC's first inland fur-trading post. The Red Earth First Nation is located in

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2688-529: Is safety in numbers, all families would want to be part of some band, and banishment was considered a very serious punishment. Bands would usually have strong ties to their neighbours through intermarriage and would assemble together at different parts of the year to hunt and socialize together. Besides these regional gatherings, there was no higher-level formal structure, and decisions of war and peace were made by consensus with allied bands meeting together in council. People could be identified by their clan , which

2772-618: Is the work of non-Canadians. Nevertheless, Skene-Melvin writes "Just as the Western is widely regarded as emblematic of American culture, it can be argued that the Northern is the only truly indigenous Canadian art form, even if most of its exponents have been foreigners." One of the earliest international examples of the genre is the British play The Klondyke Nugget , which was first performed in 1898. Its author, Samuel Franklin Cody initially wrote it as

2856-840: The Fort Peck Indian Reservation and as "Landless Cree" and "Rocky Boy Cree" on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation , all in Montana . The Chippewa Cree share the reservation with the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians , who form the "Chippewa" ( Ojibwa ) half of the Chippewa Cree tribe. On the other Reservations, the Cree minority share the Reservation with the Assiniboine , Gros Ventre and Sioux tribes. Traditionally,

2940-732: The Matter of Rome ). Common elements of which are the Black Donnelly murders (February 1880), the North-West Rebellion (1885), the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99), the pursuit of Albert Johnson (January 1932), the October Crisis (October 1970), and persistent national anxiety about potential annexation by the United States. The Western idea of lawlessness set in American towns was not

3024-863: The Moose River , about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from its mouth at James Bay; and Moose Factory 68 , a tract of land about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) upstream on the Moose River. The Taykwa Tagamou Nation has two reserves, New Post 69, and their main reserve, New Post 69A outside Cochrane, Ontario along the Abitibi River . Wabun Tribal Council is a regional chief's council based in Timmins, Ontario representing Ojibway and Cree First Nations in northern Ontario. Moose Cree members are: Brunswick House First Nation and Matachewan First Nation . Brunswick House's reserves are Mountbatten 76A and Duck Lake 76B located in

3108-549: The Northwest Territories to Labrador . It is the most widely spoken aboriginal language in Canada. The only region where Cree has official status is in the Northwest Territories, together with eight other aboriginal languages, French and English. The two major groups: Nehiyaw and Innu, speak a mutually intelligible Cree dialect continuum , which can be divided by many criteria. In a dialect continuum, "It

3192-533: The Rocky Boy Indian Reservation with Ojibwe (Chippewa) people. The documented westward migration over time has been strongly associated with their roles as traders and hunters in the North American fur trade . The Cree are generally divided into eight groups based on dialect and region. These divisions do not necessarily represent ethnic sub-divisions within the larger ethnic group: Due to

3276-723: The Sudbury District . The Kashechewan First Nation community is located on the northern shore of the Albany River on James Bay. The Hudson's Bay Company established a post, Fort Albany , at this location between 1675 and 1679. Kashechewan First Nation is one of two communities that were established from Old Fort Albany, the other being Fort Albany First Nation . The two Nations share the Fort Albany 67 reserve. The Missanabie Cree First Nation signed Treaty 9 in 1906 but did not receive any reserved lands until 2018. The Missanabie reserve

3360-460: The "second period" of Canadian crime literature (1880–1920), as "the heyday of the 'Northern' and the literary exploration of Canada's remote and romantic frontiers." He refers to Joseph Edmund Collins as an important figure in this period because, despite his work being of low quality, he was the first Canadian author to address some aspects of the 'Matter of Canada' in his novels, such as The Story of Louis Riel: The Rebel Chief (1885) and Annette,

3444-468: The Algonquin. Depending on the community, the Cree may call themselves by the following names: the nēhiyawak, nīhithaw, nēhilaw , and nēhinaw ; or ininiw, ililiw, iynu (innu) , or iyyu . These names are derived from the historical autonym nēhiraw (of uncertain meaning) or from the historical autonym iriniw (meaning "person"). Cree using the latter autonym tend to be those living in

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3528-646: The Fisher River 44 and 44A reserves. Marcel Colomb First Nation is located outside of Lynn Lake on the Black Sturgeon reserve on Hughes Lake, 289 kilometres (180 mi) northwest of Thompson via Provincial Road 391 . Norway House Cree Nation is located in Norway House which is located on the Playgreen Lake section of the Nelson River system on the north side of Lake Winnipeg. In 1821, Norway House became

3612-745: The Journey of Death, comes from The Call of the North (1914) and was popular in later films. In this, the Hudson's Bay Company executes convicts by forcing them into the wilderness without equipment or supplies. In 1921, the Hudson's Bay Company successfully sued the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation for the villainous portrayal of their Company in the latter's remake The Call of the North . Alaska Natives or Métis are featured in some depictions. Besides being set in Canadian Prairies ,

3696-441: The Monsoni, (a branch of the Ojibwe ). Both groups had donned war paint in preparation to an attack on the Dakota and another group of Ojibwe. After acquiring firearms from the HBC, the Cree moved as traders into the plains, acting as middlemen with the HBC. The Naskapi are the Innu First Nations inhabiting a region of northeastern Quebec and Labrador , Canada. The Naskapi are traditionally nomadic peoples, in contrast with

3780-430: The Métis Spy (1886). Northerns continued to be written after 1920 but Canadian authors largely moved to other genres after World War I as they moved away from a frontier and colonial ethos. The Klondike Gold Rush during the 1890s in Canada and Alaska brought a lot of wider, international attention to the far north of North America. Adventure novels from veterans of the gold rush—such as Jack London 's The Call of

3864-427: The Plains Cree, were allied with the Assiniboine , the Metis Nation, and the Saulteaux in what was known as the " Iron Confederacy ", which was a major force in the North American fur trade from the 1730s to the 1870s. The Cree and the Assiniboine were important intermediaries in the Indian trading networks on the northern plains. When a band went to war, they would nominate a temporary military commander, called

3948-504: The Quebec government signed an accord with the Cree Nation that resulted in the abolition of the neighbouring municipality of Baie-James and the creation of the new Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government , providing for the residents of surrounding Jamésie TE and Eeyou Istchee to jointly govern the territory formerly governed by the municipality of Baie-James. Eeyou Istchee is a territory of eight enclaves within Jamésie plus one enclave (Whapmagoostui) within Kativik TE. Each enclave

4032-616: The Sudbury District near Chapleau, Ontario. The Matachewan First Nation is on the Matachewan 72 reserve near Matachewan township in the Timiskaming District . Fort Severn First Nation and their reserve, Fort Severn 89, located on the mouth of the Severn River on Hudson Bay, is the most northern community in Ontario. It is a member of Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council . Mushkegowuk Council , based in Moose Factory, Ontario , represents chiefs from seven First Nations across Ontario. Swampy Cree members are: Fort Albany First Nation and Attawapiskat First Nation . Fort Albany First Nation

4116-451: The United States, under the name Dan Candy's Law . Northern (genre) International interest in the region and the genre was fuelled by the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99) and subsequent works surrounding it, fiction and non-fiction. The genre was extremely popular in the interwar period of the 20th century. Northerns are still produced, but their popularity waned in the late 1950s. Northerns are similar to Westerns but are set in

4200-417: The Western myth eventually lost popularity, Hollywood Northerns remained mostly unchanged until their production waned in the late 1950s, the underlying mythology never being challenged. Cree The Cree or nehinaw ( Cree : néhinaw , néhiyaw , nihithaw , etc.; French: Cri ) are a North American Indigenous people . They live primarily in Canada , where they form one of

4284-415: The Wild (1903), Rex Beach 's The Spoilers (1906) and Robert W. Service 's The Trail of Ninety-Eight (1909)—became best sellers. These inspired more adventure fiction which grew in popularity throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The genre was extremely popular in the inter-war years, with a "Mountie craze" hitting its peak during the mid-1920s. A large amount of Northern fiction

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4368-452: The basic unit of organization for Cree peoples was the lodge , a group of perhaps eight or a dozen people, usually the families of two separate but related married couples, who lived together in the same wigwam (domed tent) or tipi (conical tent), and the band , a group of lodges who moved and hunted together. In the case of disagreement, lodges could leave bands and bands could be formed and dissolved with relative ease. However, as there

4452-473: The community of Oxford House, Manitoba , 160 kilometres (99 mi) southeast of Thompson. God's Lake First Nation is located in the God's Lake Narrows area on the shore of God's Lake . The main reserve is God's Lake 23, 240 kilometres (150 mi) southeast of Thompson. The Manto Sipi Cree Nation also live on God's Lake in the community of God's River on the God's River 86A reserve, about 42 kilometres (26 mi) northeast of God's Lake Narrows. All of

4536-443: The community of Sheshatshiu in Labrador and is located approximately 45 km (28 mi) north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay . Sheshatshiu is located adjacent to the Inuit community of North West River . The Sheshatshiu Nation has one reserve, Sheshatshiu 3. Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation is located on the reserve of Mashteuiatsh in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Roberval, Quebec , on

4620-461: The community of Red Earth, on the banks of the Carrot River , on the Carrot River 29A reserve. Close by is the Red Earth 29 reserve, about 75 kilometres (47 mi) east of Nipawin . Shoal Lake Cree Nation is located in Pakwaw Lake, on the Shoal Lake 28A reserve, 92 kilometres (57 mi) east of Nipawin. The Keewatin Tribal Council, described under Swampy Cree, also represents Rocky Cree First Nations in Manitoba. The Barren Lands First Nation

4704-416: The completion of the movie. The RCMP, which had seen the film as a centrepiece of its 1973 centennial celebrations, withdrew its backing and asked that its name not be used in any promotional materials. Sutherland stated that Fournier’s direction of the movie was "wretched". However, one critic noted that many of the script changes were apparently made by Sutherland, which contributed to the uneven nature of

4788-436: The country's largest First Nations . More than 350,000 Canadians are Cree or have Cree ancestry. The major proportion of Cree in Canada live north and west of Lake Superior , in Ontario , Manitoba , Saskatchewan , Alberta , and the Northwest Territories . About 27,000 live in Quebec . In the United States, Cree people historically lived from Lake Superior westward. Today, they live mostly in Montana , where they share

4872-481: The distinction between /s/ and /ʃ/ (š) has been lost, both merging to the former. "Cree is a not a typologically harmonic language. Cree has both prefixes and suffixes, both prepositions and postpositions, and both prenominal and postnominal modifiers (e.g. demonstratives can appear in both positions)." Golla counts Cree dialects as eight of 55 North American languages that have more than 1,000 speakers and which are being actively acquired by children. The Cree are

4956-409: The excessive force used by the NWMP. The film ends in a shoot-out near the town of Duck Lake , where Almighty Voice is killed. Part of the tension of the film is the relationship between Grant and Candy. Grant shows the stereotype of the Mounties, upright and scrupulously fair, similar to portrayals of the Mounties in earlier Northerns . Candy, on the other hand, is rough-hewn and rural, not part of

5040-475: The final result falls short of the mark can't help but be a disappointment. Making director Claude Fournier's shortfall all the more unhappy are the sparkles of depth and brilliance that do occur, sparkles suggesting that within the film he's offered us is a really great picture struggling to get out. Walsh criticised Sutherland's acting in the movie, stating that Sutherland needed a stronger director to keep him on track. Walsh also criticised Sutherland's changes to

5124-419: The form ililiw , coastal East Cree and Naskapi use iyiyiw (variously spelled iiyiyiu , iiyiyuu , and eeyou ), inland East Cree use iyiniw (variously spelled iinuu and eenou ), and Montagnais use ilnu and innu , depending on dialect. The Cree use "Cree", "cri", "Naskapi, or "montagnais" to refer to their people only when speaking French or English. As hunter-gatherers ,

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5208-579: The frozen north of North America ; that is, Canada or Alaska . Of the two, Canada was the more common setting, although many tropes could apply to both. Popular locations within Canada are the Yukon , the Barren Grounds , and area around Hudson Bay . Generic names used for this general setting included the "Far North", the "Northlands", the "North Woods", and the "Great Woods". Common settings include boreal forests , isolated cabins, and mining towns. Snow featured to such an extent that Northern films were sometimes termed "snow pictures". Animals were

5292-562: The greater degree of written standardization and prestige Plains Cree enjoys over other Cree dialects. The Métis (from the French, Métis – of mixed ancestry) are people of mixed ancestry, such as Cree and French, English, or Scottish heritage. According to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada , the Métis were historically the children of French fur traders and Cree women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Cree, Northwestern Ojibwe, or northern Dene women ( Anglo-Métis ). The Métis National Council defines

5376-483: The heroic outlaws often found in Westerns. On the subject, David Skene-Melvin writes "Canada never had a Wild West because the Mounties got there first," while Margaret Atwood writes "No outlaws or lawless men for Canada; if one appears, the Mounties always get their man." Law and order in Northerns set in Canada is most often represented by the Mounties, either the North-West Mounted Police or Royal Canadian Mounted Police depending on era. Like snow, Mounties are

5460-505: The heroic, happy-go-lucky bon-vivant and the villainous, lecherous killer. Some later examples merged the two stereotypes into a charming, roguish anti-villain . Common visual elements were a tuque , a sash and a pipe. All were present in the first appearance in film, in A Woman's Way (1908). Female French-Canadian characters also followed the "tempestuous" stereotype of female Mexican characters. Mexican actress Lupe Vélez , in line with her identity as "The Mexican Spitfire", played

5544-473: The idealistic vision of the Mounties. He is attracted to Grant's widow (played by Francine Racette ), and also carries the guilt of having triggered Almighty Voice's decision to escape, in which Grant was killed. Chief Dan George plays the role of Sounding Sky, the father of Almighty Voice. The first version of the screenplay for Alien Thunder was written by W. O. Mitchell , a noted Saskatchewan author. However, as filming progressed and changes were made at

5628-408: The largest group of First Nations in Canada, with 220,000 members and 135 registered bands. Together, their reserve lands are the largest of any First Nations group in the country. The largest Cree band and the second largest First Nations Band in Canada after the Six Nations Iroquois is the Lac La Ronge Band in northern Saskatchewan. Given the traditional Cree acceptance of mixed marriages, it

5712-413: The law. Canadian-authored Mounties represent, and are self-abnegating champions of, the Canadian establishment and its laws. Further, their authority does not come from either their social class or physical abilities; such a Mountie "upholds the law by moral rather than physical force". A common story outline for Northerns involving Mounties is a pursuit, confrontation and capture: the Mountie's pursuit of

5796-408: The many dialects of the Cree language , the people have no modern collective autonym . The Plains Cree and Attikamekw refer to themselves using modern forms of the historical nêhiraw , namely nêhiyaw and nêhirawisiw , respectively. Moose Cree, East Cree, Naskapi, and Montagnais all refer to themselves using modern dialectal forms of the historical iriniw , meaning 'man.' Moose Cree use

5880-459: The mouth of the Mingan River of the Saint Lawrence River in the Côte-Nord (north shore) region. Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam based in Sept-Îles, Quebec, in the Côte-Nord region on the Saint Lawrence River. They own two reserves: Maliotenam 27A, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of Sept-Îles, and Uashat 27, within Sept-Îles. Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John is based out of Schefferville, Quebec. One reserve, Matimekosh ,

5964-553: The mouth on James Bay. Independent from a Tribal Council is the Weenusk First Nation located in Peawanuck in the Kenora District. The community was located on their reserve of Winisk 90 on the mouth of the Winisk River on James Bay but the community was destroyed in the 1986 Winisk flood and the community had to be relocated to Peawanuck. Keewatin Tribal Council is a Tribal Council based in Thompson, Manitoba that represents eleven First Nations, of which five are Swampy Cree, across northern Manitoba. Fox Lake Cree Nation

6048-975: The population lives on the Opaskwayak 21E reserve, immediately north of and across the Saskatchewan River from The Pas. The Sapotaweyak Cree Nation is located in the Shoal River 65A reserve adjacent to the community of Pelican Rapids , about 82 kilometres (51 mi) south of The Pas. Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation has several reserves but the main reserve is Swan Lake 65C which contains the settlement of Indian Birch, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of The Pas. Not affiliated with any Tribal Council: Fisher River Cree Nation , Marcel Colomb First Nation , and Norway House Cree Nation . Fisher River Cree Nation , located approximately 177 kilometres (110 mi) north of Winnipeg in Koostatak on Lake Winnipeg , control

6132-492: The principal inland fur trading depot for the Hudson's Bay Company. Norway House was also where Treaty 5 was signed. They control more than 80 reserves from less than 2 hectares (4.9 acres) to their largest, Norway House 17, at over 7,600 hectares (19,000 acres). The Nation is one of the most populous in Canada with 8,599 people as of November 2021 . Prince Albert Grand Council is based in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and

6216-454: The request of Sutherland, he asked that his name not be used on the finished version. He was reported to have said: "It’s just not mine anymore." The film was one of the most expensive produced in Canada at that time, with a cost of $ 1.5 million (approximately $ 9,245,000 in 2024). An historically accurate reproduction of the town of Duck Lake was built as one of the film sets. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police provided officers and horses for

6300-515: The script. A retrospective review in 2019 found that "Though it laudably uses Indigenous (and principally Cree ) actors and some of the Cree language , Alien Thunder is ultimately a film about Mounties and settlers; as sympathetic as it may be to the Cree, they are, as the native peoples of the Americas tend to be in Westerns, reduced to supporting players in their own story." The film was also released in

6384-719: The southern limits of the Cree territory in Montana were the Missouri River and the Milk River . In Manitoba, the Cree were first contacted by Europeans in 1682, at the mouth of the Nelson and Hayes rivers by a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) party traveling about 100 miles (160 km) inland. In the south, in 1732; in what is now northwestern Ontario, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye , met with an assembled group of 200 Cree warriors near present-day Fort Frances , as well as with

6468-635: The stories often contrast the American frontier with the Canadian frontier in several ways. In films such as Pony Soldier and Saskatchewan the North-West Mounted Police display reason, compassion and a sense of fair play in their dealings with Aboriginal people ( First Nations ) as opposed to hotheaded American visitors (often criminals), lawmen or the American Army who seem to prefer extermination with violence. David Skene-Melvin classes

6552-517: The story. The film was originally scheduled for a premiere in Montreal in the fall of 1973. The RCMP is said to have asked that the premiere not occur during their centennial year. Instead, the film had a simultaneous release in four Saskatchewan cities in March 1974: Regina , Saskatoon , Moose Jaw , and Battleford , with a subsequent release in Vancouver. The film was not a financial success. "Suspense

6636-573: The territorial Montagnais, the other segment of Innu. The Naskapi language and culture is quite different from the Montagnais, in which the dialect changes from y to n as in "Iiyuu" versus "Innu". Iyuw Iyimuun is the Innu dialect spoken by the Naskapi. Today, the Naskapi are settled into two communities: Kawawachikamach Quebec and Natuashish , Newfoundland and Labrador. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach

6720-444: The territories of Quebec and Labrador. The Cree language (also known in the most broad classification as Cree-Montagnais, Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi, to show the groups included within it) is the name for a group of closely related Algonquian languages , the mother tongue (i.e. language first learned and still understood) of approximately 96,000 people, and the language most often spoken at home of about 65,000 people across Canada, from

6804-625: The title character in Tiger Rose (1929) in this mode; as did Renée Adorée in The Eternal Struggle (1923) and Nikki Duval in Quebec (1951). A common anachronism in Northerns was the tyranny and absolute power of the Hudson's Bay Company and its officers, even into the modern period. This was repeated not just in fiction but by reviewers and critics too. The concept of La Longue Traverse , or

6888-637: The village of Les Escoumins, Quebec . The community is on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Escoumins River in the Côte-Nord region, 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Tadoussac and 250 km (160 mi) northeast of Québec . Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw , officially named Atikamekw Sipi – Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw, is a tribal council in Quebec, Canada. It

6972-565: The western shore of Lac Saint-Jean . Bande des Innus de Pessamit based in Pessamit , Quebec, is located about 58 km (36 mi) southwest of Baie-Comeau along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Betsiamites River . It is across the river directly north of Rimouski, Quebec . Pessamit is 358 km (222 mi) northeast of Quebec City. Innue Essipit are based in their reserve of Essipit , adjacent to

7056-604: The western shore of the mouth of the Saint-Augustin River on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Côte-Nord region. The community is adjacent to the settlement of Saint-Augustin . Montagnais de Unamen Shipu  [ fr ] are located at La Romaine, Quebec at the mouth of the Olomane River on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. They have one reserve; Romaine 2. Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation located in

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