Indigenism is an ideology that promotes the rights of Indigenous peoples and their cultures.
Indigenism has many goals:
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maintaining a traditional way of life
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protecting Indigenous languages
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preserving culture
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gaining greater autonomy
Many well-known personalities express Indigenism in Quebec, including Samian (Samuel Tremblay), a Métis rapper from the Indigenous community of Pikogan, and Elisapie Isaac, a singer-songwriter from Nunavik, who both write Indigenous languages into their songs.
The following artists also personify Indigenism: Montagnais artist and painter Jean-Luc Hervieux from Betsiamites is known for his paintings on scenes of Montagnais everyday life. Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin made several documentaries about Indigenous peoples, one of which is about the Oka Crisis of 1990. Bernard Assiniwi was a Cree literary writer.
Some festivals such as the Innu Nikamu Festival and the First Peoples’ Festival honour Indigenous culture.
Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie created Le peuple invisible, a 2007 documentary about the Algonquin nation in which they speak up against the living conditions of the Algonquins.