We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice

Directed by Alanis Obomsawin

Canada, 2016 (documentary, 163 minutes, colour, English)

Also known as "On ne peut pas faire deux fois la même erreur"

Video (National Film Board of Canada)

Film Description:
"In 2007, the Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations filed a landmark discrimination complaint against Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada. They argued that child and family welfare services provided to First Nations children on reserves and in Yukon were underfunded and inferior to services offered to other Canadian children. Veteran director Alanis Obomsawin's documentary We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice documents this epic court challenge, giving voice to the tenacious childcare workers at its epicentre."
-- National Film Board of Canada (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Alanis Obomsawin
Produced by:	Alanis Obomsawin, Annette Clarke
Narrator:	Alanis Obomsawin
Animation:	Élise Simard, Brigitte Archambault
Film Editing:	Alison Burns
Music:	Michel Dubeau, Lauren Bélec
Production Company:	National Film Board of Canada / Office national du film du Canada

(sources)

Notes about We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice

Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016.

(sources)

Quote about We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice

"The star of this doc [We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice] is Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the Caring Society, who is shown year after year fighting for a better outcome for First Nations children. But it is David Nahwegahbow, lawyer for the Assembly of First Nations, who summarizes the film's impact when he says that Aboriginal people have no understanding of an agreement in which all the other party does is attempt to wiggle through loopholes."
-- Kate Taylor (source)

Bibliography for We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Taylor, Kate. "At the intersection of bureaucracy and humanity." Review of We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice. Globe and Mail, October 21, 2016.

Web Sites about We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice

National Film Board of Canada. "NFB -- We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice." National Film Board of Canada. http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=59598.
Office national du film du Canada. "ONF -- On ne peut pas faire deux fois la même erreur." Office national du film du Canada. http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/fr/notre-collection/?idfilm=64920. [in French]