What We Carry was commissioned for CBC’s Documentary Channel and delves into the interwoven stories of a grandmother who once taught at a residential school and the community she impacted.
In 1963, a restless Jennifer Notley spots an ad in a teacher’s magazine for a position in Northern Alberta. She leaves her life in England and arrives by bush plane to Wabasca-Desmarais—an isolated place with bad roads, no electricity, limited services, and a residential school. Jennifer taught for five years at Desmarais Indian Residential School as it transitioned from a residential school to a day school. In 2022, her daughter Katrinka and granddaughter Bracken return to this beautiful northern lakeside community in the heart of Treaty 8 territory (one of the largest Treaty Nations in Canada) with questions, carrying a trunk full of history. Kat McDermott and Willow Auger, both members of the Bigstone Cree nation, introduce Bracken and Katrinka to the community. Together, they open the trunk and open the doors to discovery.
This film contains discussions of abuse and trauma sustained by residential school survivors.
Join us for a Q&A following this screening with producer and subject Kat McDermott and writer & subject Katrinka Scott!
Runtime: 88 minutes
Tickets by donation at the door.
Refreshments available for purchase.
Proceeds will go to the Pakitinâsowin Fund
-
Synod Office
Office Hours
Contact
