Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger

The rights of First Nations children take centre stage in this monumental work, where generations of injustices endured by children living on reserves are exposed. Through passionate testimony and unwavering conviction, frontline childcare workers and experts, including Cindy Blackstock, take part in a decade-long court battle to ensure these children receive the same level of care as other Canadian children. Their case against Canada is a stark reminder of the disparities that persist in First Nations communities and the urgent need for justice to be served.

Inspired by the life of the late teen activist Shannen Koostachin, children and community members from Attawapiskat created Shannen's Dream, a national campaign to provide equitable access to education in safe and suitable schools for First Nations children. Hi-Ho Mistahey! follows the grassroots movement from northern Ontario to the United Nations in Geneva, where the children's voices calling for a new school were finally heard, prompting a response back home in Canada.

As one of the 11 Numbered Treaties with First Nations in Canada, Treaty No. 9 covers a vast swath of northern Ontario. Trick or Treaty? details how the interpretations of this agreement between First Nations and the Crown can be vastly divergent. To the Canadian government, this treaty represents a surrendering of Indigenous sovereignty, while the descendants of the Cree signatories contend its original purpose to share the land and its resources has not been upheld. As enlightening as it is entertaining, Trick or Treaty? succinctly and powerfully portrays one community's attempts to enforce their treaty rights and protect their lands, while also revealing the complexities of contemporary treaty agreements.