The gift / the National Film Board of Canada presents ; director, Gary Farmer ; producer, Jerry D. Krepakevich.

[Montréal, Quebećbec] : [Distributed by] National Film Board of Canada, [2018]

1 streaming video file (49 min.) : digital, sound, color

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Ever since it was first nurtured from a grass by the Maya, corn has held a sacred place in the lives of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Before colonization, corn was widely used as a beverage, a food staple, an oil and a ceremonial object. It was respected and revered as a critical part of creation. The Gift explores the powerful bond and spiritual relationship that continues to exist between people and corn. The video begins in North America on the traditional lands of the Six Nations Confederacy (in southern Ontario and northern New York state) where we witness the planting of the corn and all the work and humour that accompany the community harvest. Next we travel to southern Mexico, from San Cristobal to the lowlands of the rain forests for the green corn and seed corn harvests. Mayan culture is inconceivable without corn--and NAFTA's threat to the the Maya's right to grow maize became a central issue in the Zapatista uprisings.

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Images / Online / Video & Film

English; Spanish; Undetermined

October 30, 2018

Editor, Su Rynard ; cinematography, Alan Lawrence, Alexis Hurtado.

System requirements: Firefox 4 and up; Safari 5.0 and up; Chrome version 21 and up; Internet Explorer 8 and up; Flash or HTML5 player.

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