Photo of Dwight Changemaker on the poster for Original Slurs / Photo source USAY Social Media
Original Slurs is a comedic exploration of the various slurs that have been used to describe Indigenous People in North America.
For the past year, youth of the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) have been working on a video project to start a conversation around slurs in four different parts and into a feature film highlighting elements of each part.
The project features various Indigenous influencers, elders, and members of the community about how they feel about slurs like Indian, Redskin, and Savage.
With its Premiere around the corner, USAY Executive Director Leeanne Ireland explains how she was surprised to see various opinions about different slurs in the Indigenous Community.
One of the main goals of the project was to understand where many of the slurs came from and how they have been used over the years, the project also is to help bring healing.
This is presented through conversations that challenge social norms around slurs which are used in casual conversation to make the slurs non-derogatory.
Ireland shares how it’s important to engage in uncomfortable conversations as a way of moving forward.
Original Slurs Premieres on March 20 at the East Hills Cineplex in Calgary’s Southeast.
For those who miss the Premiere day, the film’s original four-part mini-series will be made available online.
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