Bearing Witness to History: 'Sugarcane' Documentary Earns Oscar Nomination, Illuminating the Legacy of Residential Schools

The horrific and often suppressed history of Indian residential schools continues to command global attention, solidified by the 2025 Oscar nomination of the powerful documentary film, Sugarcane, in the documentary feature category. Directed by the thirty-one-year-old Julian Brave NoiseCat (Canim Lake Band Tsq'escen) and Emily Kassie, the film stands as a crucial visual testimony to the missing children who never returned home, the indelible scars carried by survivors, and the persistent, intergenerational fight for truth, justice, and reconciliation.

NoiseCat, whose credentials include being a recognized Native writer, journalist, policy analyst, and activist, brings a unique perspective shaped by his dedication to Indigenous rights, climate policy, and social justice. His work, covering issues related to Indigenous communities, environmental justice, and progressive policies, has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. The film’s stature is further boosted by the involvement of last year’s Best Actress nominee, Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet and Nez Perce), who serves as an executive producer for Sugarcane.

The documentary centers its narrative on St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia, which was situated near the Sugarcane Indian Reserve. The film follows the story of Mason, a former student, while simultaneously exploring the broader, systemic history of residential schools—institutions intentionally designed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children through dehumanizing conditions and institutionalized abuse.

The exploration is made deeply personal through NoiseCat’s own connection to St. Joseph’s Mission, where his father was both born and attended as a child. Utilizing this intimate lens, the documentary captures the pervasive intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous families, while also meticulously chronicling the community-led movement toward reckoning and healing. Additionally, the film includes footage documenting the self-reflection of Ricket Gilbert, the former chief of the Williams Lake First Nation, who was part of a delegation of Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors that traveled to the Vatican in 2022 to meet with Pope Francis. That highly significant visit culminated in the Pope’s public apology for the atrocities committed by Christian institutions against Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The origins of the Sugarcane project trace back to 2021, a pivotal year when the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia ignited a necessary global conversation about Canada’s residential school legacy. This moment spurred action, and in late 2021, the Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) launched a nine-month investigation into potential unmarked graves at St. Joseph’s Mission. The findings of this community-led probe, announced by Chief Willie Sellars in January 2022, tragically revealed the possible burial sites of at least fifty Indigenous children.

St. Joseph’s Mission operated from 1891 to 1981 and was run by various religious sects under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite years of longstanding reports detailing neglect and abuse at the institution, many accounts were systematically ignored or deliberately destroyed. The film recounts one of the most harrowing stories from the school's history: an instance where nine students attempted a mass suicide by ingesting poison hemlock to escape the school, an act that resulted in one death. Adding to the legacy of abuse, several clergy members who served at St. Joseph’s Mission were later convicted of sexual crimes against children in the 1990s.

Prior to securing its Oscar nomination, Sugarcane garnered significant acclaim on the festival circuit. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2024, where it received widespread praise for its compelling narrative structure and meticulous investigative research. The documentary was also featured at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, where it notably won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary. Beyond its artistic and cinematic achievements, the documentary has catalyzed important public conversations regarding government and church accountability, forcefully pushing for justice and reparations for survivors and their families.