Noopiming is the latest stop-motion animation collaboration between Amanda Strong, Spotted Fawn Productions and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. The film veers away from the common protagonist/antagonist narrative and is strengthened by the telling of a collective story rooted in healing and re-emerging land and cultural practice. While conflict is present within the film, the struggle isn’t viewed in the same way as is usually portrayed in cinema. Each character responds to their own process of accepting loss and grief, often by taking a land-based action grounded in Nishnaabeg ceremony. These actions happen across Mississauga Nishnaabeg territory, from urban enclave to deep in the bush. Cultural continuum is not defined by the colonial imprint on the land; adaptation and revitalization are the thread to keep the process vital.

Mashkawaji is our narrative voice. She has been frozen in the lake for two years, long enough that being stuck has become a deep, wide calm. Mashkawaji introduces all of our characters as extensions of her. The grizzled elder Akiwenzi is her will. The traveling maple tree Ninaatig is her heart. The ever-moving and shifting Mindimooyehn is her conscience. The shape-shifter and helper Sabe is her marrow. Adik the Caribou ghost is her nervous system. The younger ones on the trail, Asin and Lucy, become her eyes, ears and her brain. In her processing of grief, Mashkawaji experiences a re-awakening through the actions of these characters as they work alone and come together to reclaim Nishnaabeg aesthetics and practice.

The effort of the collective and the 7 ancestor teachings (also known as the 7 Grandfather Teachings) are at the core of this film. Geese teach us about flight formation and the rules for navigation and migration. The raccoon also teaches us about the value of adapting and using what we have to take care of one another. These birds and animals represent nations and are the Nishnaabeg people, some who have migrated and some who have stayed.

Akiwenzii and Mindimooyehn, with the aid of spirits and ancestors, take their time to teach Asin and Lucy the old ways of the Nishnaabeg. Lucy and Asin do this work in a world that is dominated by screens and pop culture and they make several missteps on their path to cultural renewal. It is through this work with the aid of the community that the collective harvests seeds for transformation and healing.