The Canary Effect

Robin Davey and Yellow Thunder Woman’s ‘The Canary Effect’ is only an hour long but in that short time it manages to illustrate the past and present plight of the North American Indian with amazing style, verve, wit and intelligence. The film uses racially derogetry cartoons from the Forties and Fifties, harrowing montages of past tribal massacres, and snappy visual effects to illustrate the interviews with various politically-astute talking heads. This illuminating documentary not only highlights the dastardly deeds of America’s forefathers – including the massacre at Wounded Knee – but the US Government’s continuing efforts to brush tribal matters under the carpet. If the subject of Native American culture fascinates you as much as it does this writer, then I can think of no more vital a document.