Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers’ film witnesses radical and profound change in her community. Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is an intimate portrait of survival, love and the collective work of healing in the Kainai First Nation in Southern Alberta, a Blackfoot community facing the impacts of substance use and a drug-poisoning epidemic.
Community members active in addiction and recovery, first responders and medical professionals implement harm reduction to save lives. This work is contextualized within the historical and contemporary impacts of settler colonialism; Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy draws a connecting line between the effects of colonial violence on Blackfoot land and people and the ongoing substance-use crisis.
Held in love and hope for the future, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy asks the audience to be a part of this remarkable change with the community.
Watch the Film
Two Liner
Follow filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as she creates an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance use and overdose epidemic. Witness the change brought by community members with substance-use disorder, first responders and medical professionals as they strive for harm reduction in the Kainai First Nation.
One Liner
Witness the work of community members with substance-use disorder, first responders, and health professionals in the Kainai First Nation as they bring hope and change through harm reduction to Blackfoot people.
A portrait of a community facing radical change, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy brings humanity and compassion to the substance-use crisis and drug-poisoning epidemic on the Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta. Filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers welcomes viewers to witness the collective work of her community.
Surrounded by tall prairie grass gently swaying in the wind stands Elle-Máijá’s mother, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, a family doctor and community harm-reduction advocate who teaches that, “Kimmapiiyipitssini means compassion… in our way of believing, if you help people out then you are blessed to continue to do that, and so our People are supposed to give what they have or what they can to help.” Kimmapiiyipitssini is at the heart of the harm-reduction strategy in this Blackfoot community.
Lori speaks to her experience with substance-use disorder through gentle storytelling and laughter. She is a mother and an aunty, and is currently in recovery. Lori explains that opioid agonist therapy, which manages opioid addiction with a prescribed alternative, has been essential to her recovery journey. A short distance away, in a small room at the Moses Lake Shelter, Elle-Máijá shows community members with alcohol-use disorder a video about the Managed Alcohol Program in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver, BC. The program provides controlled access to alcohol and a safe consumption site. After the video, George tells Elle-Máijá, “If it works, we won’t hurt ourselves, drinking that bad stuff.” The sale of alcohol is prohibited in Kainai, which leaves some with alcohol-use disorder no choice but to consume dangerous alternatives.
Contextualized in the historical and lived trauma of settler colonialism, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy draws a connecting line between the impacts of colonialism on Blackfoot land and people and the ongoing substance-use crisis. By questioning abstinence-only treatment, and showing the lives saved through harm-reduction models, the film asks the audience to be a part of the radical change to which the community is committed.
This need for change is felt in neighbouring city Lethbridge. In a parking lot on a brisk evening, Mark Brave Rock, founder of the SAGE Clan, leads volunteer members in prayer before they start their routine. The group patrols the streets of Lethbridge in order to provide safe drug-rig clean-up, and helps ensure the safety of street-involved vulnerable peoples. The city can be a volatile place for Indigenous peoples.
People with a substance-use disorder, both in active use and in recovery, come together with frontline workers to issue an urgent call to action: change is a matter of life or death for many people. Set among the smooth curves of the foothills of southern Alberta, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy holds these stories in love and hope for the future.
February 16, 2021
In 2020, fentanyl claimed more than 2,000 lives in British Columbia and Alberta, the provinces hardest hit by the drug-poisoning crisis. A disproportionate number of those lives lost to drug poisoning were Indigenous. Each and every one of them had a story and legitimate reasons for developing addictions. They were human beings with hopes, dreams and aspirations. They had people who loved them, and their deaths were preventable. That is certain. Their deaths make it impossible to ignore the gaping wound left by the ongoing impacts of settler-colonialism.
For decades, Indigenous communities have accepted that abstinence-based treatment models, such as 12-step programs, are the golden standard for treating addiction. However, the drug-poisoning crisis has revealed that abstinence isn’t a realistic, or even a humane, expectation for those addicted to substances like fentanyl. As the death toll continues to rise, many Indigenous communities have been forced to question our longstanding relationship with the abstinence-based model. Despite the fact that evidence-based studies prove that harm reduction saves lives, many communities were not and still are not willing to adopt harm-reduction practices.
Seven years ago, my community of Kainai found itself on the frontlines of this crisis. Our community leaders and addictions specialists turned to the conventional abstinence-based treatment models and very quickly learned that the abstinence model was not effective in saving lives. Every week, we lost loved ones and grief permeated every aspect of our lives. Somewhat reluctantly, those on the frontlines began to implement radical alternatives rooted in harm reduction and witnessed a dramatic shift within the community.
Kimmapiiyipitssini is a Blackfoot teaching that reminds us that practising empathy and compassion is how we survive as a people. It is how our ancestors survived genocide and it is how we, as a community, will survive this crisis. Kimmapiiyipitssini is our harm reduction. As a filmmaker and a community member, I felt an urgency and a responsibility to document these radical changes and also honour the lives of those lost to this crisis. I am immensely proud of Kainai and everyone who is contributing to this monumental effort to save lives.
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is a tribute to my community, lovingly crafted with great care and respect for who we are and who we have always been.
a Seen Through Woman Productions
and National Film Board of Canada
co-production
Produced with the participation of
Telefilm Canada
Produced with the assistance of the
Hot Docs CrossCurrents Doc Fund
a film by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
Kímmapiiyipitssini
“The Meaning of Empathy”
FOR MY GRANDFATHER, OTAHKOITAA.
Lester Tailfeathers (1939-2020)
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
PRODUCED BY
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
David Christensen
Lori Lozinski
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
David Christensen
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Patrick McLaughlin
EDITOR
Hans Olson
COMPOSER
Chandra Melting Tallow
ANIMATION ILLUSTRATOR
Karlene Harvey
ANIMATOR
Aparna Kapur
FOR THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Esther Viragh
STUDIO ADMINISTRATORS
Devon Supeene
Bree Beach
STUDIO OPERATIONS MANAGER
Darin Clausen
PRODUCTION COORDINATORS
Jessica Smith
Hilda Amponsah
Tanis Redcrow
Faye Yoneda
MARKETING MANAGER
Kay Rondonneau
PUBLICIST
Katja De Bock
LEGAL COUNSEL
Christian Pitchen
ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Damien Eagle Bear
Joshua Manyheads
Soloman Chiniquay
Arnell Tailfeathers
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
SOUND RECORDISTS
Brad Martin
Alex Mitchell
Charlene Moore
Ron Osiowy
Arnell Tailfeathers
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
Jeff Henschel
Francesco Russo
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Leonard Provost
Arnell Tailfeathers
Madison Tailfeathers
Deserae Yellow Horn
LOCATION MANAGER
Leonard Provost
Arnell Tailfeathers
PRODUCTION STILLS PHOTOGRAPER
Arnell Tailfeathers
IMPACT PRODUCER
Robyn Weasel Bear
DIRECTING AND PRODUCTION MENTEES
Jade Baxter
Olivia Marie Brooks
Tristin Greyeyes
ELDERS AND CULTURAL SUPPORT
Francis First Charger
Beverly Hungry Wolf
INDIGENOUS HISTORY AND POLICY
WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Faye Morning Bull, B.A., LL.B.
POST PRODUCTION
1ST ASSISTANT EDITOR
Krystal Moss
COLOURIST / MENTOR
Sam Gilliing
COLOURIST MENTEE
Soloman Chiniquay
TITLES / GRAPHICS DESIGNER
Cheyenne Manning
ON-SCREEN GRAPHICS
Asia Youngman
SOUND EDITORIAL
SOUND DESIGNER
Peter Robinson
SOUND DESIGNER / MENTOR
Eva Madden
DIALOGUE EDITOR
Peter Robinson
ADDITIONAL SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR
David Green
ADR RECORDISTS
Peter Robinson
SOUND MIX FACILITY
SHARPE STUDIOS
PROJECT MANAGER
Laurie Melhus
SOUND SUPERVISOR
Kelly Cole
RE-RECORDING MIXER
May Guimarães
RE-RECORDING MIXER
Kevin Morales
POST-PRODUCTION FACILITY
ELEMENTAL POST
PROJECT SUPERVISOR
Matt Drake
FINISHING ARTIST
Ryan Mance
LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY
Nathaniel Lyman
Chandler Fodgen Aldous
AUDIT SERVICES BY
Gemma Davis
Sierra Accounting
INTERIM FINANCING PROVIDED BY
National Bank of Canada
INSURANCE PROVIDED BY
Front Row Insurance Brokers
POST PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING
Paralee Cook
“MINNOW FOREVER”
WRITTEN, COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY
Laura Ortman
Courtesy of Laura Ortman
“RAEDEEN”
WRITTEN, COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY
Quinn Christopherson (BMI)
Courtesy of Saghani LLC
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE & PHOTOS
THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA
“Circle of the Sun”
THE GLENBOW MUSEUM
SALAZAR FILM
LETHBRIDGE NEWS NOW
“Mavericks: Dr. Esther Tailfeathers”
ADDITIONAL SAGE CLAN FOOTAGE
Lee Anne Cutter
Filmed with the permission of Parks Canada in Waterton Lakes National Park
Filmed on the traditional and unceded territory of the Kainai, PiIkani, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ Nations.
ELEMENTAL
UBCP / ACTRA DGC/BC
WGC SHARPE SOUND
With the participation of the Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC
FIBC
CrossCurents Canada Doc Fund
CrossCurrents Doc Fund – Short/Interactive Stream
PARTICIPANTS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
Dr. Esther Tailfeathers
Kirby Manyfingers
Tim Tailfeathers
Darwin Fisher
Lynda LaPretre
Tyler Bigchild
Michelle Wishart
Dr. Christy Sutherland
Tod Spencer
Pam Little Bear
Lori Eagle Plume
Melanie Old Shoes
Mariah Shouting
Kenneth Wood
Sonjae Bare Shin Bone
Leah Crazybull
George Calling Last
Mayor Maggie Kronen
Mike Fox
Stephanie Brown Weasel
Dallas Hindbull
Robyn Fox-Oka
Robert Calf
Sean Chief Moon
Bryan Smith
Ky Bird-Shouting
Jeremy Weasel Moccasin
Roxi White Quills
Chief Roy Fox
Shae Standing Alone
Kalon Sharp Adze
Geraldine Shade
Nolan Little Bear
Rady Goodrider
Stacey Bourque
Lloyd Chief Calf
Travis Bird
Mark Brave Rock
Gina Hunt
Sylvester “Sly” Daniels
Marcia White Quills
Lynda Eagle Speaker
Kevin Cowan
Jacen Abrey
Lani Blackwater
Trinity White Feathers
Sergeant John Connor
Virginia Tailfeathers
Lester Tailfeathers
Eline Van Munt
Leslie Wells
Kara Eagle Bear
Warren Potts
Rylan
Jeff Fox
Chantelle Vailleres
Leonard Chief Moon
Austin Tallman
Jagger Eagle Plume
Judy Sept
Tyler Chief Calf
Lorne Taylor
Baby Boy
SPECIAL THANKS
Susan Alexman
Marion Allaart
Eva Bad Eagle
Thomas Badman
Tim Baker
Corey Bartlett
Sandy Lee Beebe Iron Shirt
Leslie Belcourt
Deedrie Big Throat
Henry Big Throat
Peggy Big Throat
Floyd Bighead
Ramona Bighead
Stan Big Sorrel Horse
Lloyd Bigstone
Curtis Big Swallow
Dale Big Swallow
Gary Bird
Jason Bird
Warren Bird
Wyatt Bird
Keenan Blackplume
Kevin Black Plume
Patrick Black Plume
Andrew Blackwater
Cecilia Blackwater
Chancy Blackwater
Megan Blackwater
Joey Blood
Lauren Tawney Blood
Pam Blood
Shelley Bolton
Colin Boras
Starly Brave Rock
Annette Bruisedhead
Charlene Bruised Head-Mountain Horse
Mike Bruisedhead
Myles Bruisedhead
Patricia Bruisedhead
Constable Grant Buckskin
Ben Buffalo Rider
Sophia Butler
Braden Burton
Jasmine Cachine
Carolla Calf
Lacey Calf Robe-Davis
Chris Campbell
Colleen Cardinal
Steve Cardinal
Cheri Carson
Taylor Chief Calf
Lorraine Chief Moon
Gloria Chief Moon
Tiffany Chief Moon
Vincent Christianson
Ethan Colenutt
Inspector Jason Colon
Dennis Cook
Oscar Cotton
Kelly Creighton
Harold Crooks
Jil Crop Eared Wolf
Natosi Crop Eared Wolf
The Crosstown Clinic
Dolly Creighton
Robert Creighton
Earl Crow
Kyla Crow
Lee Anne Cutter
Mikala Dalton
The family of Sly Daniels
Eric Davies
Jeannie Davis
Shilow Davis
Janice Dawe
Kacey Day Chief
Jauna Day Chief
Nancy Day Rider
Rosie Day Rider
Wyatt Day Rider
Chelsey Degroot
Brandon Dennehy
Patti Devine
Rena Devine
Ricky-Lee Devries
Anthony Dillon
Greg Dimmen
Dr. Shey Eagle Bear
Will Eagle Bear
Eric Eagle Child
Campbell Eagle Child
Geraldine Eagle Speaker
Patti Ellertson
Patsy English
Chantelle First Charger
Dorothy First Rider
Jerry Firth
Kelsea Foster
Ann Fox
Arnold Fox
Dan Fox
Derrick Fox
Georgette Fox
James Fox
Rose Fox
Roy Fox
Robyn Fox-Oka
Shauna Fox
Terri Lynn Fox
Tia Fox
Dylan Frank
Melanie Frank
Gina Galbraith
Ryan Gauthier
Adam Garnet Jones
Richard Gettman
Emile Giroux
Vanessa Gladue
Michael Goodstriker
Shanelle Goodrider
Keaton Grbavac
Kathleen Grebely
Chae-Lynn Griffin
Denise Griffin
Joe Griffin
Daniel “Husky” Gros Ventre Boy
Jennifer Gros Ventre Boy
Leon Gros Ventre Boy
Nico Gros Ventre Boy
Rebecca Gros Ventre Boy
Robert Gros Ventre Boy
Tyler Hagan
Jodie Hairy Bull
Kim Hall
Dave Hamm
Robert Hamilton
Belrina Hanuse
Starr Hatt
David Hauck
Leeanne Healy-Johnson
Lori Healy
Marlo Healy
Brooke Heatherington
Martin Heavy Head Jr.
Bradley Heavy Runner
Jamie Heavy Runner
Lenora Heavy Runner
Quenton Heavy Runner
Kathleen Hepburn
Darwin Hindbull
Delia Hindbull
Denver Hindbull
Jason Holy Redman
Katherine Holywhite Man
Amanda Honeysett
Kara Hornland
Tiffany Hsiung
Tasha Hubbard
Byrdy Hunt
Roger Hunt
Wayne Hunt
Chris Iron Shirt
Christine Iron Shirt
Coby Iron Shirt
Evan Iron Shirt
Tootsie Iron Shirt
Maddison Jarvis
Alanna Johnston
Chelsea Just
Shalda Kastor
Brian Kettle
Alfon Khibesheasa
Helen Knott
Penny Kostelny
Michaela Krizan
Tamara Labas
Richard Ladouceur
Hugh Lampkin
Angela Latham
Brad Larsen
Robbie Lawrence
Joanne Lemieux
Robyn Little Bear
Nidel Little Mustache
Justin Little Shields
Justy Linton
Joshua Mabbott
Daniel Macherske
Dr. Scott MacDonald
Jill Manning
Geraldine Manyfingers
Karen Manyfingers
Lenora Manyfingers
Randy Manyfingers
Jeff Martens
Rafeawae Marule McLean
Michael May
Blake McCallum
Mike McCague
Tyson McCarthy
Kirk McClain
Cheyenne McGinnis
Eric Mackenzie
Medrie McPhee
Daniel Mechebke
Amanda Meguinis
Chief Kyle Melting Tallow, BTP
Paul Michaud
Melissa Mistaken Chief
Jon Montes
Rob Morgan
Gordon Morning Bird
Shalayne Morning Owl
Tracey Morrison
Takara Motz
Andrew Moxon
Dr. Hassan Naqvi
David Napio
Denny No Runner
Echo Nowak
Carolyn Nymeyer
Aidan O’Brien
Ellie Oka
Veronica Oka-Wells
Charmayne Old Shoes
Greta Old Shoes
Kenneth Old Shoes
Matthew Olson
Gerdine Oosterwijk
Bill Perry
Cory Pantherbone
Stone Patton
Mark Peel
Megan Penney
Katie Piasta
Shawn Piche
Shannon Pickens
Tamara Pimental
Kenneth Plain Woman
Shane Plain Woman
Travis Plaited Hair
Clay Plume
The Portland Hotel Society
Meghan Potkins
Noel Poucette
Melissa Prairie Chicken
Karl Quesnelle
Elizabeth Radshaw
Joel Rain
Sienna Randolph
Rupert Richardson
Galen Rigter
Cory Robinson
Blaise Russell
Kara Russell
Tom Russell
Wanda Rusell
John Sam
Coty Savard
Matt Schmidt
Amanda Scout
Lawrence Scout
Lance Scout
Kristian Scout
Michael Seguin
Hank Shade
Lindi Shade
Patty Shade
Ronni Shade
Sandra Shade
Karen Shouting
John Skulsh
Kaylee Singh
Lynn Small Legs
Mervyn Small Legs
Billy-Jo Smith
Louise Smith
Marvin Smith
Patrick Smith
Shelley Lynn Smith
Marcel James Spearchief
Jaimee Sprinkle
Jason Steel
Monika Stein
Joseph Steinhauer
Martin Steward
Oliver Stokes
Tanner Stokes
Colby Stone
Spikes on Bikes
Angie Standing Alone
Garret Standing Alone
Wanda Standing Alone
Skye Starnino
Elizabeth Steiner
John Stoesser
Tanner Stokes
Bjarne Store-Jakobsen
Dr. Christy Sutherland
Jamie Sweetgrass
Shane Kenneth Sweetgrass
Bill Tailfeathers
Laurie Tailfeathers
Lance Tailfeathers
Lester Tailfeathers
Virginia Tailfeathers
Nadine Tailfeathers
Nicole Tailfeathers
Rick Tailfeathers
Tara Tailfeathers
Jonathan Tallman
Rana Tallman
Heidi Tao Yang
Taylor Thompson
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
Michelle van Beusekom
Christopher Van Veen
Heidi Veldman
Darcie Vielle
Terrance Vogt
Tisha Wadsworth
Tina Watters
Dorothy Weaselfat
Charlton Weasel Head
Darcy Weasel Head
Josh Weasel Head
Marcel Weasel Head
Shalaine Weasel Head
Shannon Weasel Head
Bonnie Weasel Moccasin
Peter Weasel Moccasin
Vanessa Webster
Ardith Wells
Shelby Wells
The Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society
Franklyn Whitequills
Tammy Whitequills-Knife
Tracy Whiteman
Constable Julian Williams-Freeman
Maxine Willows
Jordan Wilson
Michelle Wishart
Billy Wolf Child
Bruce Wolf Child
Curtis Wolf Child
Donna Wolf Child
Jonathan Wolf Child
Samantha Wolf Child
Yolanda Wolf Child
David Young
Geraldine Young Pine
Sam Young Pine
Darren Zinkavich
Sarah Zwaryck
©2021 Seen Through Woman Productions and National Film Board of Canada