Good Intentions – the founding of Methodist Residential Schools in Upper Canada

Good Intentions is an audio history of Ojibwa ancestors who lived at the time when residential schooling took root in Southern Ontario. Featuring interviews with researcher Hope Maclean, Alderville First Nation Council member Dave Mowat and readings of historical texts. This documentary focuses around the histories and words of Kahkewāquonāby (later Peter Jones) and Shawundais (later John Sunday). 

 

This is the second documentary that we have worked on at the station that aims to add to the discussion of the Residential School System in Canada. The first, Resonating Reconciliation From Ryerson to Shingwauk was also produced by Pamela Matthews. 

 

 

 

Producer Bio:

Pamela Matthews (BSc, MFA) is a Producer, Director, Editor, Instructor and Actor and has been working in Film and Television for more than twenty-five years. She teaches Film Studies at Ryerson University and Centennial College (Broadcasting/Film Program), and, since 2002, has been teaching filmmaking for the American Indian Film Institute’s Tribal Touring Program (San Francisco). Her films includes the feature-length documentary, “Just Another Dead Indian”, about the wrongful deaths of Aboriginal men in Canada, “A Shot in the Dark”, about Ipperwash and the death of Aboriginal activist, Dudley George – and – the multi-award-winning dramatic film, “Only the Devil Speaks Cree”, about surviving the residential school experience. Pam completed her Film Studies at Ryerson University where she received the Howard Kerr Memorial Scholarshipand the Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She is also a graduate of the Ryerson Theatre School and received her MFA in Film Production from York University.

 

Music: 

From The Smoke Trail Singer’s album A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

 

Kahkewāquonāby Portrayed by: 

Barry Birnberg