Safety videos show creative thinking around injury prevention

Gathering Wisdom V for a Shared Journey brought together BC chiefs, health directors, and provincial and federal partners from across the province May 15 to 17 to discuss the future of health for First Nations in the province.

As part of the conference was a vote for the First Nations Health Council’s safety video competition, short films submitted by young people from BC First Nations. The messages concerned the theme Safer Nations—Injury Prevention, and dealt with preventing unnecessary deaths and injuries.

Dr. Evan Adams, deputy provincial health officer of British Columbia, introduced the videos and winners and was a panel judge. The competition was decided in “American Idol” fashion with a panel vote from the judges and then a live phone-in vote from the audience. Laura Jameson, health director of Skwlax Wellness Centre, and Dr. Perry Kendall, the provincial health officer, rounded out the judging panel. He said he was playing the Simon Cowell role (the mean and critical judge from the early American Idol days) because Kendall was born in the United Kingdom.

The first video shown called “Safe Body Honored Spirit” concentrated on the everyday dangerous situations that we put ourselves in—driving while speaking on a cell phone or texting, riding a bike without a helmet, taking a spin in a watercraft without a lifejacket.

Dr. Adams said he really loved the video because of its evocative feel of the rez and its sweetness.

The second video was called “Masked Driver,” which dealt with a distracted driver who clips the back of a bicyclist while backing out of his garage while texting. A supernatural masked being appears in the passenger seat and gives the driver a talking to about his bad and dangerous driving habits.

The third video called “Sookinchoot” is about people walking and texting, and not being aware of their surroundings. In it, the makers show a girl who is mugged because she is not aware of the boys hanging out on the corner and the danger that is present around her.

Film four is called “Safety is a Universal Language.” It showed the many Indigenous words for “be careful” and the many things we do to keep ourselves and our families safe, using seatbelts and car seats for babies, and putting on a hardhat for work.

Number 5 was called “Stolen Moments.” In the film a woman is celebrating precious moments, a birthday, an engagement, a wedding, buying a new home, having a baby. But then we learn all of that was not to be because of an accident where she failed to wear her seatbelt while driving and texting while behind the wheel.

The last video shown called “Ride On Be Safe” came from the Seabird Island Community School of the Sto: lo Nation with students representing “excellent bike safety.”
Get smart and use proper gear and hand signals, the students say as they follow a helmeted bike rider down the street. This video won the audience award, and $1,000. It was submitted by Sandra Eustache.

Honorable mention was “Masked Driver” by Dionne Jackson. The third prize of $1,000 was won by Candace Curr for “Safe Body Honoured Spirit.”

“Safety is a Universal Language” by director Trevor Mack of Williams Lake came in second in the panel vote. He thanked the health council for the opportunity and the cash winnings of $2,500.

The first place winner was Michelle Colyn of Nuu-chah-nulth territory for “Stolen Moments” She took home $5,000 for her video.