Filmmaker Statement

After losing my father unexpectedly in 2015, I began to connect more deeply with my Ojibwe identity and the traditions that I lost when he passed. I rediscovered writing and found it to be a healthy way to explore my journey of grief. Last fall, I wrote a poem that would become the backbone and voiceover of this film; an exploration of grief, intergenerational trauma, and how we must ultimately choose what to keep and what to leave behind. Grief is often explored via the living, those left behind, those left to suffer. The lesser understood side of grief is experienced by those who are passing, the unfinished business, the regrets. This is my interpretation of the Spirit’s journey, based on my own experience with grief upon the unexpected loss of my father, and the resilience that I’ve found by following in his footsteps.