Colonization Road (2016)

Name: Colonization Road
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2016-10-23

49m

Running Time

Plot.

In towns throughout Ontario, there are startling reminders of the colonization of Indigenous territories and the displacement of First Nations people. Anishinaabe comedian and activist Ryan McMahon takes us to his hometown of Fort Frances and down its main drag, which is called Colonization Road. Similar streets have similar names in towns and cities across the province, direct reminders of the Public Lands Act of 1853 and its severe impact on First Nations, their treaties and their land in the name of “Canadian settlement.” On his journey through Ontario, McMahon explores the history of these roads, meets with settlers in solidarity and raises significant questions about “reconciliation” and what it means to “decolonize.”

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Ryan McMahon

self

Michelle St. John

Director

Jordan O'Connor

Music

Shane Belcourt

Producer

Brendan Brady

Producer

John Reed Hryszkiewicz

Editor

Media.

Details.

Release Date
October 23, 2016

Status
Released

Running Time
49m

Genres
Documentary

Last updated: 2024-09-23

Wiki.

Colonization Road is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Michelle St. John and released in 2016. Hosted by comedian and activist Ryan McMahon and starting in his own hometown of Fort Frances, Ontario, the film explores the impact of Ontario's historic colonization road system, which formed the basis of the province's contemporary highway system, on First Nations people. Some towns and cities in the province still to this day have a street named Colonization Road, and the film led some of them to debate changing their road's name.The film had a theatrical premiere in October 2016 at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, before airing on CBC Television's documentary series Firsthand on January 26, 2017. At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, it received a nomination for the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social or Political Documentary Program.