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Exhibitionists

Dear Mr. Prime Minister: This poet has something to say to you about Indigenous rights

Standing proudly in the vast Peace River landscape, writer Helen Knott calls on PM Justin Trudeau to protect the rights of Canada's Indigenous population.

'This land is my ancestors' living memory'

CBC Arts ·

Dear Mr. Prime Minister: this poet has something to say to you about Indigenous rights

8 years ago
Duration 3:15
Writer Helen Knott has a call out to Justin Trudeau to protect the rights of Canada's Indigenous population.

You may have heard of Helen Knott — she's a driven poet and strong activist who's used her words to focus attention on Indigenous land and water rights and violence against the land and Indigenous women.

If you haven't heard of Knott, you won't soon forget her after this video directed by filmmaker Coty Savard. Standing proudly in the vast Peace River landscape, Knott is directly addressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: challenging him to remember his promises and pay attention to the Indigenous population, their land, their water, their history and the number of times they have seen promises broken.

Helen Knott
The Peace River in northeastern British Columbia. (CBC Arts)

Keep up with Helen Knott's blog here.

Coty Savard is an emerging Dene, Cree and Métis filmmaker/producer. Her films and projects often concentrate on the varied, complex and sometimes uncomfortable reality of Indigenous experiences in Canada.

Watch Exhibitionists Sundays at 4:30pm (5 NT) on CBC.