Indigenous Plant Diva

20089 min 10 secFilm: Documentary

Direction: Kamala Todd

Production: Selwyn JacobRina Fraticelli

Script: Kamala Todd

In the language of the Squamish Nation, Cease Wyss was given the name 'T'Uy'Tanat', meaning "Woman who travels by canoe to gather medicines for all people." In director Kamala Todd's lyrical portrait, Wyss reveals the remarkable healing powers of plants growing among the sprawling urban streets of downtown Vancouver.

Whether it's the secret curl of a fiddlehead, the gentleness of comfrey, or the blood red streaks of frog leaf, plants carry with them millennia of wisdom, communicated through colour, texture and form. Cease Wyss has been listening to this unspoken language, and is now passing this ancient and intimate sense of connection to her own daughter, Senaqwila.

Subject categories


  • Health and Medicine > Alternative, Holistic and Indigenous Medicine
  • Plants > Ecosystems
  • Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) > Health and SafetyWomen
  • Environment and Conservation > Indigenous Concerns
  • Women > Indigenous Women
  • Indigenous Studies > ArtsIdentity/Society
  • Science > Life Systems/Ecology
  • Nature & Ecological Knowledge > Botany, Plants, Forestry Ethnobotany & Traditional Use
  • Indigenous Governance General (Modern, Contemporary) > British Columbia
  • Indigenous Peoples: Canada > Coast Salish Skwxwú7mesh
  • Community > Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Intellectual Property
  • Health & Wellbeing > Traditional Health, Healing & Medicine

Credits


writer
Kamala Todd
director
Kamala Todd
producer
Selwyn Jacob
editor
Johnny Darrell
cinematographer
Helen Haig-Brown
composer
takë5
sound designer
Jamie Mahaffey
online editor
Eliot Piltz
vocals
Shamentsut
dialogue editor
Susan Mahaffey
re-recording mixer
Jamie Mahaffey
mix facility
The Mix Room
post-production services
Finale Editworks
production coordinator
Jennifer Roworth
technical coordinator
Wes Machnikowski
production supervisor
Kathryn Lynch
marketing manager
Kay Leung
program administrator
Bruce Hagerman
executive producer
Rina Fraticelli