Wed Jun 24 | 12pm - 2:30pm | Gallery Hall
Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL)

What does it mean to be a (Native) man? In Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man, filmmaker Sinakson Trevor Solway returns to his home nation of Siksika to reveal a portrait of Indigenous masculinity rarely seen on screen.

This intimate portrayal of the lives of Blackfoot men, looks at identity, kinship and the complex expectations of manhood. This luminous exploration of strength and vulnerability across generations of men and boys reimagines what it means to be a Native man.

What does it mean to be a (Native) man? In Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man, filmmaker Sinakson Trevor Solway returns to his home nation of Siksika to reveal a portrait of Indigenous masculinity rarely seen on screen.

Through deeply intimate conversations, Solway offers unfiltered glimpses into the daily lives of his fellow Blackfoot men. Fathers, sons, artists, athletes, DJs, each navigating what it means to be a man in a world that often misunderstands and stigmatizes who they are. Solway, who grew up feeling pressure to “cowboy up,” quietly dissects and prods at rigid ideals of manhood, calling on the bonds of kinship he’s nurtured over a lifetime.

Set against the sweeping backdrop of the Prairies, Siksikakowan resonates as a luminous exploration of strength and vulnerability across generations of men and boys embracing the intricacies of self-discovery, identity and love.

This film is provided courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada