Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back

200848 minFilm: Documentary

G

Direction: Reaghan Tarbell

Produced by Mushkeg Media Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada.

Mohawk high steel workers have a special place in North American history. The iconic New York skyline - with its great monuments to modernity - is the fruit of their labour.

While the men were scraping the skies, the women had their feet firmly on the ground - sustaining a vibrant Mohawk community in the heart of Brooklyn.

Little Caughnawaga evokes the neighbourhood's heyday - from the 1920s through to the 60s - and salutes the spirited women who kept the culture alive.

The Brooklyn Mohawks were mostly from Kahnawake, a community long associated with the dangerous world of high steel. In 1907 the small town lost 33 men in the Quebec Bridge disaster, an event that still looms large in collective memory.

Moving back and forth between Brooklyn and Kahnawake, director Reaghan Tarbell crafts an affectionate portrait of Little Caughnawaga ad a heartfelt tribute to the cultural resilience of her people.

Subject categories


  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) > Family LifeHistoryLifestylesUrban LifeWomenWork
  • Women > Indigenous Women
  • Women - Portraits > Indigenous Women
  • Tangible & Material Culture > Architecture & Structures (Traditional)
  • Roles & Relationships > Feminism & Women
  • Community > Housing (Modern/Contemporary)
  • Indigenous Peoples: Canada > Kanien'kéhaka (Mohawk)

Credits


director
Reaghan Tarbell

Awards


  • Best Feature DocumentaryAboriginal Film and Video Festival