History class wishes it slapped this hard.
This documentary short is a cinematic recording of Tales from a Prairie Drifter, a stage comedy about the North-West Resistance during the opening of the Canadian West. Highlighting the roles of Louis Riel, the Resistance leader, prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald and General Middleton, who was sent to quell the uprising, the play defines the First nations and Métis cause more succinctly than many history books. Here, the play is performed by the Regina Globe Theatre before and Indigineous audience of First Nations and Métis, whose reactions are recorded.
Direction
Captures live Indigenous audience reactions — the real review.
Writing
Stage play that schools textbooks on the North-West Resistance.
Director
Ian McLaren
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1974 Regina Globe Theatre production was groundbreaking — Indigenous audiences rarely saw themselves represented on stage, let alone with this much bite.
Director Ian McLaren's choice to foreground audience reaction rather than expert commentary was radical for 1970s documentary — it trusts Indigenous viewers as the authority.
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