Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back

200856 min 40 secFilm: Documentary

G

Direction: Reaghan Tarbell

Production: George Hargrave (Mushkeg Media Inc.)Paul M. RickardGermaine Ying Gee Wong (National Film Board of Canada)Kat BauluRavida DinShirley K. Sneve

Script: 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


writer
Reaghan Tarbell
director
Reaghan Tarbell
producer
George Hargrave
Paul M. Rickard
Germaine Ying Gee Wong
Kat Baulu
executive producer
Ravida Din
Shirley K. Sneve
camera
Paul M. Rickard
editor
MeiYen Chan
additional camera
Zacharie Fay
location sound
Nick Huard
Zacharie Fay
Ryan Mitchell
narration
Reaghan Tarbell
narration coach
Kathleen Fee
music
diGitum
vocals
Francine Saïa
additional music
Intermède PikMusic
music - arrangement
Albert Canadien
accompanist
Albert Canadien
production coordinator
Megan Thorne
Sia Koukoulas
production assistant
Dulsie Thompson
Cherri Low Horn
research
Reaghan Tarbell
accounting
Margaret Terreau
translator
Hilda Nicholas
Mary Nicholas
transcripts
Cherri Low Horn
Nahani Grenier
unit administrator
Dan Emery
Nickie Merulla
marketing manager
Moira Keigher
sound mixer
Geoffrey Mitchell
post-production coordinator
Marysol Moran
Brigitte Sénéchal
digital editing supervisor
Danielle Raymond
sound editor
Chris Leon
online editor
Dave Stonier
graphics
Dave Stonier
photo retouching
Ryan Mitchell
post-production
Nutaaq Media Inc.
closed captioning
Nutaaq Media Inc.

Awards


  • Best Feature DocumentaryAboriginal Film and Video Festival