Video Production - strongfront.tv - documentary

The main street strip in the 1960’s and early 1970’s fostered a unique social, political and cultural environment that is unique to Winnipeg. With the Urban Aboriginal movement in full swing, Indigenous people were moving fluidly between Winnipeg and the northern and rural communities of the surrounding area. 

Many people were direct survivors of the Residential School system and the urban environment offered an alternative way of life that signaled different experiences and opportunities. The gatherings at the local clubs, hotels, and restaurants facilitated the camaraderie typically experienced through music, dance, and gatherings.

The C-Weed Band and other musicians like Billy Joe Green and the late Percy Tuesday shared these experiences alongside members of the Indigenous community of Winnipeg’s main street. The articulation of resistance through music cultivated a crucial sense of familiarity and Brown Town Muddy Water is a testament to larger trends like resiliency. Join us as local music and memory reverberate throughout the decades!

** a STRONGFRONT.tv production ** Bell MTS Fibe TV (formerly Stories From Home)

Producer and Director | Jesse Green

Writer and Researcher | Vanda Fleury-Green

Editors | Rachel Beaulieu and Cam Patterson

Run Time | 52 mins

Screenings

Film screening, with Director Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. Professional Development - Garden City Collegiate, Seven Oaks School Division. Hosted by Lisa Whiteside. Winnipeg MB. June 2, 2023.

Free streaming. Brown Town Muddy Water. The Winnipeg Film Group, Cinemateque, and The Safe at Home Manitoba grant. Winnipeg MB. February 1 - 14, 2021. https://winnipegfilmgroup.com/event/brown-town-muddy-water-w-heart/

Classroom screening. Brown Town Muddy Water. HISTORY 1007: Indigenous History Since 1900: Racism, Resistance and Renewal, 1L13, 10:30-11:20am. Dr. Mary Jane McCallum, University of Winnipeg. Winnipeg MB. March 6, 2019.

Classroom screening. Brown Town Muddy Water. HISTORY 1007: Indigenous History Since 1900: Racism, Resistance and Renewal, 2L08, 8:30-9:45am. Dr. Mary Jane McCallum, University of Winnipeg. University of Winnipeg. Winnipeg MB. November 14, 2019.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. Yorkton Film Festival. Yorkton SK. May 28, 2016.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. National Canadian Film Day and Art for Lunch Program - Winnipeg Art Gallery. April 20, 2016.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Fest. Winnipeg MB. November 21, 2015.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. American Indian Film Festival (40th Anniversary). San Francisco, California. November 10, 2015.

Film screening, Brown Town Muddy Water. Montréal First Peoples Festival/Présence Autochtone. Montreal QC. August 2, 2015.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. Gimli Film Festival. Gimli MB. July 24, 2015.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. “Onikaniwak: For Those Who Lead” University College of the North Summer Institute. Egg Lake MB. July 4, 2015.

Film screening, Brown Town Muddy Water. Aboriginal Day Celebrations - Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Fest. Winnipeg MB. June 19, 2015.

Film screening, with Director and Writer Intro and Q/A. Brown Town Muddy Water. 8th Annual Gimme Some Truth Film Festival. Winnipeg MB. May 28, 2015.

Film screening, Brown Town Muddy Water. Storytellers Film Festival. The Pas MB. March 21, 2015.

Media

APTN. APTN National News, with Dennis Ward. “Brown Town Muddy Water traces Winnipeg’s Indigenous music roots.” May 2015.
https://aptnnews.ca/2015/05/28/brown-town-muddy-water-traces-winnipegs-indigenous-music-roots/

CBC Radio (national). UnReserved, hosted by Rosanna Deerchild. “Brown Town Muddy Water”. November 2015.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/drums-throat-singing-and-what-many-hope-is-a-new-era-of-reconciliation-1.3305417/brown-town-muddy-water-documents-winnipeg-s-early-indigenous-music-scene-1.3307967

Notable Acknowledgements

Nomination: Aboriginal Award - Yorkton Film Festival, 2016. Yorkton SK.

Owen Toews. Chapter 4 in Stolen City: Racial Capitalism and the Making of Winnipeg. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 2018.