Director Alexandra Lazarowich is making a movie about a successful New York City fashion designer returning home to rural Canada, her fiance in tow.

Except there鈥檚 a twist: The fashionista happens to be Cree 鈥� and home is a Northern Alberta reserve.

鈥淚 wanted to show that Indigenous women can be loved and not end up as just a prop in someone鈥檚 film,鈥� Lazarowich said.

鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a romantic comedy which features an Indigenous woman who gets to be in love, stay in love and doesn鈥檛 come from a completely dysfunctional family.鈥�

Lazarowich, a Sundance Film Festival award winner, is hopeful her film marks a step in the right direction for Canada鈥檚 entertainment industry. She also wants to see progress built from last week鈥檚 report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which called on 鈥渁ll governments to adequately fund and support Indigenous-led initiatives鈥� in media and the arts.

Lazarowich would like to see it lead to a greater commitment to resources for Indigenous stories, but she鈥檚 not waiting around for others to shatter damaging stereotypes.

Her project, 鈥�2 Funerals, a Round Dance and a Wedding,鈥� will cover the romcom genre, and she hopes other creators 鈥� and especially financiers 鈥� take heed and consider venturing into other worlds too.

鈥淲e need Indigenous people in space,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need Indigenous people in the future.鈥�

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Research has shown that media representation has a pivotal impact on public perception, especially when it comes to minorities. The fewer examples of visibility there are in Canadian pop culture, the more damaging stereotypical and negative portrayals can be.

Journalist Betty Ann Adam, whose experience as a victim of the Sixties Scoop was outlined in the NFB documentary 鈥淏irth of a Family,鈥� says the recommendation in the MMIWG report may emphasize too strongly the government鈥檚 responsibility in media.

She says the responsibility must also lie on Canada鈥檚 private broadcasters and film distributors to 鈥渢ake action鈥� in their own ways.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incumbent on all Canadian producers, casting directors and music directors at every radio station,鈥� she says.

鈥淒on鈥檛 just relegate them to the Indigenous Hour.鈥�

Adrian Sutherland, the lead singer in Attawapiskat-based band Midnight Shine, says he doesn鈥檛 believe Canada is ready to fully embrace Indigenous artists quite yet, particularly on the music scene where only a few acts have broken into the Canadian mainstream.

His band, which formed in 2011, incorporates his experiences in a northern Ontario community with radio-friendly pop-rock hooks. Despite their best efforts, Midnight Shine continues to exist on the periphery of what鈥檚 popular.

鈥淲e鈥檝e tried to push our music to the big boys, the big broadcasters, and we鈥檝e spent a tremendous amount of resources鈥� and have got nowhere,鈥� he says.

鈥淭here definitely is a shift in people鈥檚 minds, but for actual real鈥� change, I don鈥檛 believe that, I think it鈥檚 garbage. I know how hard we鈥檝e been working, pushing and pushing, and I don鈥檛 know what else we could be doing at this point to get more shows. For me, I think it鈥檚 going to take a little while longer for things to change and really get moving in the right direction.鈥�

Sutherland hasn鈥檛 given up, however, and every so often there are glimmers of hope Midnight Shine will break out.

Last year, the band鈥檚 cover of Neil Young鈥檚 鈥淗eart of Gold,鈥� which featured a verse in Mushkegowuk Cree, became their most-streamed song on Spotify. They鈥檙e hoping for similar success with a music video for the single 鈥淟eather Skin.鈥�

Actor and rapper Ronnie Dean Harris says his own experiences in Canada鈥檚 entertainment industry have taught him some important lessons about representation.

Early in his career, he played a rapping meth cook on 鈥淢occasin Flats,鈥� a 2004 co-production of APTN and Showcase. The TV series captured a bleak picture of drugs and poverty on Regina鈥檚 urban reserve, but Harris believes some non-Indigenous viewers without context might鈥檝e seen his character merely as a negative stereotype.

鈥淲e have to think about what we鈥檙e saying and what effect it has,鈥� he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the symbolism that鈥檚 being put out there into the Canadian consciousness that needs to change 鈥� We don鈥檛 need any more really terrible stories being told, I don鈥檛 think.鈥�

These days, Harris says he鈥檚 focused on projects that fill gaps in representation. He鈥檚 interested in documentaries on unexplored perspectives on Canadian history, while he recently lent his voice to the upcoming animated kids鈥� series 鈥淢olly of Denali,鈥� which features a 10-year-old Indigenous girl as the titular character.

And he鈥檚 got other ideas in his head too, like a buddy cop film with an Indigenous lead, and an ensemble piece similar to 鈥淪uperbad,鈥� but set on a reserve.

Lazarowich 鈥� whose forthcoming romantic comedy will break similar barriers 鈥� says there continues to be a 鈥渟ystemic problem in a lot of the art鈥� that winds up playing in theatres, on television and streaming platforms.

Stories told by non-Indigenous creators often end up 鈥渓acking so much鈥� context, she says, at times representing tired stereotypes or leaning too heavily on storylines of misfortune.

鈥淢y nieces and nephews don鈥檛 have that many Indigenous people to look up to as heroes, and I think that鈥檚 a really important thing growing up,鈥� says the director of 鈥淔ast Horse,鈥� which picked up the short film jury prize at Sundance in January.

鈥淲ho we are is joy, and sometimes tragedy, and we need to see the full spectrum on the big screen.鈥�

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David Friend, The Canadian Press

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