Genre
Documentary

Synopsis
Filmmaker Tracey Deer returns to her hometown of Kahnawake to interview three young girls - Amy, Lauren and Felicia - over a two year span of time. As Deer once did, these three young adults face the question of whether they will stay on the reserve or pursue their interests outside the reserve. A challenging and life-altering decision, Deer examines her own experience growing up on the reserve, and documents the girls’ experiences, opinions and factors that cause each of them to make their final decisions.

Key Themes
Responsibility and maturity
Values
Poverty and disadvantage
Loss and gain

Questions/Discussion Before the Film
• What do you think the title Mohawk Girls means? What do you think it shows about the characters? Do you think Mohawk Girls might be the way they see themselves, the way others see them, or both?

• How would you feel growing up on a reserve? List five attributes and five detriments to growing up on a reserve (that either the people mentioned or that you think).

• Each of the three girls has difficulty in their communities, but for very different reasons. Is there one you especially sympathise with or can relate to? Do you think their problems are the community’s fault, their fault or a combination?

Things to Think About When Watching the Film

• The filmmaker used different shots and angles to give different feelings parts of the film. Did you notice any repition? Did you find the often very realistic style of filming enhanced or detracted from the story the filmmaker was telling? Why?

• What effect did the music have on the film? Imagine different music, i.e. classical, folk or pop, alongside the same shots. How would that have altered them? What music would you have chosen to be most effective?

• How would it feel to go away to school, as some of the characters did to “Island of Angels”. Would you like it? Do you think that going away to school was a good decision? Would you have chosen to leave?

• The survival school taught them about their traditional culture and language. Do you think survival schools are a good idea? List three reasons why they may and may not be a good idea. Do you think they bring the community closer together or fragment it more? What do you think you would learn if you attended a survival session of your own culture?

• Similar things happen all over, not just on this one reserve. Can you think of any other examples? Have you ever felt like an outsider somewhere?

• The filmmaker concludes that she had to leave and return to appreciate that which her community offered. What do you think about this statement? Do you feel that might be true about your own community, as well?
Questions/Discussion After Screening

• What were the main themes of the film? Use examples from the film to demonstrate at least three major themes. Did you find any of these themes particularly important to you personally? Why or why not.

• What do you think the most important scene of the film was? What made it so powerful? Describe why you think it was important as well as what techniques were used to create and emphasize its importance: narrative, action, music, sound, lighting, camera work, framing and editing should be considered.

• If you had to eliminate one scene from the film, which would it be? Why would you choose that scene? What do you think would be lost from or change in the film by eliminating that theme?

• What scene was your particular favourite? Briefly describe what you thought the funniest, scariest and saddest scenes in the film were, and what made them this way.

• If you were to recommend Mohawk Girls to a friend, why would you recommend it and what would you tell them?

Exercises/Activities

• Write a review of the film, 300-400 words long.

• Create a storyboard to the next scene after the film ended. What happened to the characters? Pick at least three characters and describe what happens to them afterward.

• Write a letter from the point of view of one character to that of another.

• Think of another film (or book) with similar themes and compare how the two films examined the issue and dealt with the issue. Were they similar or did they treat the issue very differently? Which film did you think better represented the theme/issue?

• Write about the film as if it were an event in a newspaper, a fairy tale or myth, or a personal diary of events that had happened to you!

• Draw a map of what you think the location might have looked like.

• Make a character sketch explaining how their appearance represents their character.

• Create a scene broken down into a sequence of six (6) pictures