Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) had a presence on the Oscars red carpet on March 2, with Kukpi7 (chief) Willie Sellars dancing a blessing in front of the Oscars banner.
A group of WLFN leaders and the filmmakers behind the documentary Sugarcane attended the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
At home in Williams Lake, community celebrated alongside Sellars and the others at the Oscars, as they awaited to hear if the documentary Sugarcane won an award.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature).
While the film did not win the Oscar, which was taken home by the Israeli-Palestinian film No Other Land, it has already won a number of prestigious awards.
Sugarcane follows the work of Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing as they lead the investigation into the St. Joseph's Mission Indian Residential School, brings to light a painful past at the school, including stories of abuse and neglect of children there.
"The win is being in the room," said Spearing, who hopes the elevation of the story to such a global platform supports WLFN's ongoing work on the investigation and to help move ahead with plans to turn the site into a place of healing.
She said when No More Land won, it did not feel like a loss, because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is such a hot-button topic involving an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, the film's directors, were both recipients of the U.S. Documentary for Directing award at the Sundance Film Festival and the film won the Grand Jury Prize for best Documentary at Sundance as well. NoiseCat and Kassie also both won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary from the Directors Guild of America.
Spearing said the recognition of the work of NoiseCat, as an Indigenous filmmaker is also a huge win.
The film has won a number of awards at film festivals across the United States and internationally, bringing the issue of Canada's history of residential schools to a global audience.
During the Academy Awards ceremony, Williams Lake First Nation hosted a broadcast screening of the awards ceremony in Williams Lake for some in the community.
The Gibraltar Room in Williams Lake was decked out and the Los Angeles ceremony was up on the big screen, as WLFN community and invited guests dressed up and enjoyed a catered event to celebrate the film's nomination.
This story has been updated to add response and image from Whitney Spearing.
