Hop Along Hang On
How do you take back a story you didn’t know was yours? How do you move forward while embracing and understanding your past? Follow Rose the rabbit on a journey as she seeks her way back home. A poetic story of reclamation, recovery and reconciliation by Métis spoken word artist Cobra Collins.
“Hop Along Hang On” blends the genres of spoken word poetry, music and animation to explore and acknowledge the deeper history and long-term effects of the removal of culture within Indigenous peoples of Canada. Through the narrator’s personal lens “Hop Along, Hang On” offers a glimpse into the difficulties and trauma surrounding the Sixties scoop and subsequent ongoing hardships faced by Indigenous people who have found themselves on the outside of their culture. Let Rose tell you how she found her way home, in hopes that we can all build a better tomorrow, together.
Accolades
Official Selection, American Indian Film Festival, 2020
San Francisco, California
Nominated – Best Animated Short, American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco, California
Official Selection, Red Nation International Film Festival 2020, Los Angeles, California
Best Short Narrative, Black Hills Film Festival, 2020, Hill City, South Dakota
Screenings
Maoriland Film Festival, 2021
Calgary International Film Festival 2021
Director Cobra Collins
Cobra Collins (She/Her) is a Métis poet of significant height based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) – Treaty 7 Territory.
Cobra was the captain and coach of Calgary’s 2015 and 2016 Slam team, representing our city on a national level at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and was a member of Calgary’s Inkspot Spoken Word Collective, home of Calgary’s official poetry Slam.
Cobra has participated in several Nationwide Spoken Word festivals, as well as collaborated with artists of different backgrounds for dance (Fluid Movements Arts Festival) and performance festivals (IKG 1 ! Live Performance Festival). Cobra was honoured to be shortlisted as a nominee for Calgary’s 2016 & 2018 poet laureate. Above all things, Cobra truly believes that our words can change us.
How and why you are creating this film
I collaborated with several artists of different disciplines and CAOS (Calgary Animated Objects Society) to create a short film that tell a very personal story of my adoption and the effects of being removed from my Indigenous culture, while also showing the parallels felt by a larger community; those of which are still trying to reconnect with their traditional ways of knowing following the 60’s Scoop and the subsequent and ongoing over representation of Indigenous people in the foster care system.
I hope by telling my story in a unique and engaging way, I can open up a dialogue between Indigenous and settler cultures, where we can discuss the importance of learning from our history. I believe the root of this work and reconciliation starts at an educational level. The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) provides need financial assistance in this process and I value the opportunity to make these resources more accessible.