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Sisters and Brothers Film Analysis

Question 1:

Kent Monkman draws parallels between the experiences of Native boarding American boarding school students and the near destruction of the bison, and I believe that the bison and the boarding school students were exposed in the same conditions like the bison. The short film is filled with short images of the Indigenous children in the residential school system who are compared with the running bison herds, thus making a powerful statement regarding the colonial violence in Canada. I believe that Monkman was prompted to make the comparison due to the closeness in the lives of the residential boarding students and the bison herds, always in unrest trying to keep up with their master’s orders.

Based on the short film, there are several similarities that Monkman provides in the film. One of the similarities is derived from the text note that claims that more than 6,000 children died in the residential schools, while many of them were never returned to their families, but left in unmarked graves. Similarly, the bison herds are among the species that suffered greatly upon the arrival of the white settlers in Canada that led to colonization. The bison species were nearly exterminated by the colonial settlers the same way thousands of boarding school students lose their lives in unclear circumstances. Just like the unmarked graves of the children, the bison were hunted and killed, a depiction of suffering in the hands of a bigger force that regards the life of the indigenous people as nothing and less precious. Another similarity is that the bison herds are controlled and carefully spied to monitor their movements. The same case happens to the boarding school students, making them lead a miserable life.

Question 2:

After the opening scene where the cowboys are shown herding bison into holding pens, the next scene shows children running to catch the bus with parents watching them as they enter the bus. Monkman conveys a message that the boarding students are compared to the bison closely monitored and thus have no freedom. Like the bison herds, the students can’t decide what is best for them but relies on the superiors to make decisions.

Question 3:

In the middle of the film, children are taught how to use a sewing machine, mopping floors, and preparing to eat, and these scenes are repeated several times in quick succession. By using repetition, Monkman conveys a message of routine habits. Thus he is trying to say that life in residential schools is a repeat of events that happened yesterday and the previous day, and therefore nothing new is learned. A routine habit that is repeated over time makes the students seem like they have been programmed to do the activities.

Question 4:

Near the end of the film, the bison herd is seen closing a river. They are running as if they have been chased and thus are running out of being frightened. They are running for safety since they can no longer live in peace in their grazing land due to conflict with humans. By depicting the bison herds running in such a manner, Monkman is trying to make a statement regarding the resilience of the Native American cultures. They will not be able to hold to their cultures for long before they are broken by the colonial settlers. Their cultures will no longer hold, and they will be like the bison, always running in their native land.

Question 5:

According to the film, more than 6,000 children died in Canadian residential schools. Their fate was that many were not returned to their families as it is the tradition for the Canadians, and most of them were buried in unmarked graves.

Works Cited

Kent Monkman. Sisters and Brothers 2015. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/KJYkH-mbsrk?t=1