The Ballad of Crowfoot

Overview

In 1968, Willie Dunn, a Mi’kmaq/Scottish folk singer and activist, directed *The Ballad of Crowfoot*, often celebrated as Canada’s first music video. Dunn was part of the Indian Film Crew, the NFB’s inaugural all-Indigenous production unit. Through a striking montage of archival imagery and Dunn’s own ballad, the film explores colonial betrayals, centering on the legendary 19th-century Siksika chief who signed Treaty 7 for the Blackfoot Confederacy. As the IFC’s first release, it marked a historic milestone as the NFB’s initial Indigenous-directed film.