Video drums away false ideas

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Junior high school students across the province could soon be receiving a video lesson in eliminating racism, thanks to a new video production from Native Counselling Services of Alberta: "Mythomania-Drumming away false ideas." Francis Campbell is a producer with the agency's Bearpaw Media Productions, and co-producer of Mythomania. Working with Campbell on the video were three students from the University of Alberta.

Renata Grey, from Whitefish; Crystal Janvier, from the Slave Lake area; and Nicole Boysis from Hobbema developed the interview questions, decided who to interview, then went out and shot it. The three took turns doing the interviews, running the camera and recording the sound, put together the user guide that accompanies the video and designed the video cover.

According to Barb Mahew, project manager for the Alberta Teachers' Association's Safe and Caring Schools program, the association is looking at the possibility of making the video, aimed at students in Grade 7, available to teachers across the province to use in that program. She added that currently they don't have a lot of resource material available dealing with Aboriginal issues, and would like to hear from any educators who do.

The Mythomania project was born out of a previous Native Counselling Services' production, an eight-minute show entitled "Canadian Families." According to Campbell, that production persuaded the sponsors of the video production project to provide funding.

Campbell said it took $75,000 to make Mythomania. Funding for the project came from Canadian Heritage; Alberta Community Development-Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund; Imperial Oil Ltd. and the Alberta Law Foundation.

The video received its first public screening during the "Eliminating Racism Through Understanding" student forum held March 21 at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre in Edmonton.

Campbell said one of the reasons the video was produced was because of an interview that had been done with a woman who worked for the public school board. Aboriginal students had come to her saying they were dropping out of school because of name-calling and abuse.

"I realized people on the receiving end of racism are being denied opportunities," Campbell said. "Something has to change."

The video, Campbell said, shows role models, "really good examples on screen," telling them not to give up on themselves.

It looks at myths associated with various cultural groups, using interviews of people talking about what some of the myths are, and exposing them as untrue. The video then goes on to examine the effects of these myths, and of racism in general.

It examines what racism is, where it comes from, and how it can be stopped-how the myths can be shattered through the spread of information about different cultures. It points out the need to recognize the contributions different cultures have made to our country, and ends with advice on how we can all work to fight racism.

People of various ages, ethnic backgrounds and occupations were interviewed for the video. The surprising thing for a video aimed at young people is that only the adults interviewed were identified by name. None of the young people interviewed was identified.

Campbell said the decision not to include their names was one made by the girls during final editing of the project, who said the adults interviewed were role models and needed to be identified, but that in the case of the younger participants, people should be more interested in what they were saying than in who they were. In hindsight, however, Campbell feels the names probably should have been included.

One of the strengths of the video lies in its use of people from different cultural groups discussing the myths often associated with their own group. By putting a face on the group, it helps drive home the message that those on the receiving end of racism are not faceless groups. They are not stereotypes. They are individul people, with lives and rights and feelings.

For more information about Mythomania or to purchase a copy of the video, contact Native Counselling Services at (780) 423-2141.