Customer Reviews

Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker (American Indian Lives)

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This book is a much needed and long overdue contribution to the scholarly literature on Native women, especially those who are path-breaking artists and filmmakers, like Alanis Obasmwin. The author is always fair and respectful and gives Obamswin her due, widening her audience beyond Canadian circles. Driven by the narrative arc of Obamswin's own fascinating life, the book is very engaging and readable. It also makes several important theoretical contributions, and I particularly appreciated Lewis' ideas about representational sovereignty. Most importantly, it highlights the important role of Native women in cultural production, both in honor of their communities and in critique of the state. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommended it.

Randolph Lewis'book is interesting and provides a much needed look at Alanis Obomsawin's rich and inspiring career. However, Mr. Lewis should be more diligent when it comes to double-checking his facts. He mentions the Oka Crisis as a moment of great importance in Canada's recent history as well as in Alanis Obomsawin's journey as an activist and documentary filmmaker. However, he places the crisis in 1991 when, in reality, it took place in 1990. Lewis is sloppy on other occasions throughout the book which greatly reduced the pleasure I took in reading the book.