National Film Board of Canada Statement Regarding Inconvenient Indian

After engaging with the Indigenous participants who appear on screen, the NFB’s Indigenous Advisory Group, and industry partners, the NFB, 90^th Parallel Productions and producer Jesse Wente have decided to withdraw Inconvenient Indian from active distribution.

The film will be withdrawn from all upcoming festivals, including the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to dialogue and engage with Indigenous communities to explore an accountable path forward for the film.

The NFB is committed to the On-Screen Protocols & Pathways developed by imagineNATIVE and the guidelines of the Indigenous Screen Office, and remains dedicated to the principle that Indigenous stories must be told by Indigenous creators.

French version here | Version française ici.

The NFB is Canada’s public producer of creative documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories, and immersive experiences. Since 1968, the NFB has produced over 300 works by First Nations, Métis and Inuit filmmakers—an unparalleled collection that pushes past dominant narratives and provides Indigenous perspectives to Canadian and global audiences. Guided by the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the NFB is implementing an action plan with commitments that include devoting a minimum of 15 percent of overall production spending to Indigenous-led productions and making these works more accessible via Indigenous Cinema, a new destination on NFB.ca, and its apps for mobile devices.