film: The story of the smallest tribe
Stephen Hui, Peak Staff

Sad but positive. That is how Eunhee Cha describes the story of Rhonda Larrabee, chief of one of the tiniest Native bands in the country. The Vancouver filmmaker should know. Larrabee is the focus of A Tribe of One, which Cha directed. The documentary, Cha's second and latest, is set to make its broadcast premiere on CBC Newsworld this week.

A Tribe of One chronicles the compelling life and family history of Chief Larrabee of the New Westminster Indian Band, also known as the Qayqayt First Nation. The band boasts just four registered members - Larrabee and her three brothers - who grew up in Vancouver believing that they had solely Chinese ancestry.

"Rhonda's story - the way the Natives were treated back in the early century and how her mom denied her of her heritage - it's very, very sad," Cha said, speaking over the telephone from Toronto. "But yet there's a lot of strength in these people and there's a lot of positive outlook."

In 1913, the federal government expropriated the New Westminster Band's reserve lands. Larrabee's maternal grandparents were the last band members to live on the reserve. Now her driving goal is to secure a land base for her grandchildren and a home for her band.

"There should be a legacy left to my mom and her ancestors," Larrabee said in an interview at Simon Fraser University. "And that legacy would be a land base for her children and grandchildren for seven generations. So yes, I am pursuing that and hope to get that in my lifetime before I pass everything on to the daughters and let them take care of it."

Larrabee submitted an application on behalf of her band to join the British Columbia treaty process, but it was rejected.

"They sent it back and said that I couldn't participate because I didn't live on my own land," Larrabee said.

"So, I said, 'That's not my fault,'" she added, chuckling.

A Tribe of One, which was produced by Selwyn Jacob, was a winner of the National Film Board of Canada's first ever Reel Diversity competition, which helps emerging filmmakers of colour shoot 40-minute documentaries.

The director heard of Larrabee's plight through one of her brothers, with whom she is a friend. A Tribe of One represents the type of story Cha likes to portray.

"It's similar to my first film, Journey for Lotus, which was about the relationship between the Japanese and Koreans and why there was so much animosity between the two countries," Cha said. "That kind of story - what I've always looked for - is some kind of a historical, personal story."

The low budget documentary was made in eight months.

Larrabee admitted she had concerns about what angle the documentary would take a few weeks into filming. Now, although she is still waiting to receive her own copy of the film - "It must be nice to have a copy," she joked - Larrabee is pleased with the final product and excited about its upcoming broadcast.

"She filmed me so much and did so many interviews with me that they all run together and you forget what you said. So when I saw it again, I was glad she pulled out what she did," Larrabee said. "Maybe the only thing that was missed was how close I am with my daughters."

A Tribe of One will make its broadcast premiere on Tuesday, May 27 at 7 p.m., on CBC Newsworld's Rough Cuts. Repeat broadcasts are scheduled for the same night at 10 p.m. and on Saturday, May 31 at 7 p.m.

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