Revolution Moosehide

Revolution Moosehide is a 47-minute documentary that follows Melaw Nakehko, a Dene moosehide tanner, activist, artist and actor, from the Northwest Territories. Nakehkos is an extraordinary journey of cultural resurgence and revitalization, as she learns the practice of moosehide tanning from Dene Elders across the Northwest Territories. Joined by several young women, the process of learning and practicing moosehide tanning leads to deeper realizations about Dene community, culture and identity, while also intersecting with an emergent wave of political action erupting from Indigenous movements across Turtle Island, otherwise known as Canada. This documentary and thesis situates Melaws story within an era of responsive Indigenous activism, contextualized in a lineage which follows the Idle No More movement. This is an era rooted in the important of forming grassroots organizations focused on leadership and rooted in cultural identity, with a political imperative to build vital visions of stable futures for and by Indigenous communities in Northern Canada.