Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]

Adam and Zach Khalil’s monumental and daring film follows the emotional and vital work of a Michigan Indigenous alliance made up of repatriation specialists representing all Michigan tribes. These repatriation specialists fight to bring their ancestors’ remains and funerary objects home from settler colonial institutions like museums, libraries, and archives. The film follows the pressing struggle to rebury Indigenous human remains that have been held in sterile storage, laying bare the history of Indigenous collections and the battle to recognize and enforce the laws intended to facilitate their repatriation to the communities they were originally stolen from. Taking the approach of an essay film alongside documentary portraits, Aanikoobijigan celebrates the courageous individuals who carry out this hard and emotionally draining labor of return. In English and Anishinaabemowin with English subtitles. (85 mins., DCP)

See the complete Unorthodocs 2026 lineup.

IMAGE CAPTION
Aanikoobijigan, courtesy of Film Collaborative.