I had a vision that I one day
would be free again. To be an Indian. I married a white man in 1938, and yet there's that law that you're not Indian anymore
when you marry a non-Indian. We lose our right to vote here,
we lose our property.

Our numbers will shrink, and
shrink, and shrink. And really, it's about
our extinction. Yeah. So then, I said, "We've got
to do something." Imagine, Mary, these recordings have gone
untouched for over 30 years.

This is the first time
we have ever been able to speak. We demand that
the Indian Act be changed to give us equal rights. You and your sisters, in a sense you're equal
when you think you're equal. And if you think
you're unequal,

the law won't change much. A law can make your own
brother discriminate against you, like he's Indian
and you're not. My mother became notorious. That's when she started getting
the death threats. You have to know the politicians.
Oh, God.

Oh, politics!
It's wicked. Please search your hearts
and minds, set my sisters free.

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (Trailer 01m40s)

The National Film Board (NFB) is Canada's public film producer and distributor.

We produce documentaries, animations, alternative dramas and more. We have a collection of over 13,000 films which have won more than 5000 awards, including 12 Oscars® and more than 90 Genies. Visit NFB.ca to watch over 4,000 documentaries and animated films, for free.

Check out our iPhone app at http://nfb.ca/iphone and our iPad app at http://nfb.ca/ipad.

If you have any questions, or suggestions of films you'd like to see added to our online collection, please contact us:
http://nfb.ca/about/contact-us/

Don't forget to subscribe here:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=nfb

Loss of Indian Status and Rights Through Marriage

Marriage to a non-Indian resulted in loss of Indian status, voting rights, and property.

The speaker's concern about the shrinking Indian population and potential extinction.

Call for amending the Indian Act to grant equal rights.

The speaker's belief that self-perception of equality is important for legal change.

The speaker's mother faced discrimination and death threats due to her activism.

A plea for people to act with empathy and liberate the speaker's sisters.

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (Trailer 01m40s)

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (Trailer 01m40s)

Scripts