FIRST NATION BLUE

This documentary narrated by Graham Greene takes us behind the bulletproof vest to uncover the changing attitudes of the police officers who serve First Nations or Native American communities. Some of these officers are Native themselves and were raised in the very community they serve. Three officers are featured and show that instead of being outsiders forcing the people to change, police are now adapting themselves to address the needs of Native people. Intercutting actual patrol footage with at-home interviews, we see first-hand the intimate relationships the officers have developed with the people they serve, how they deal with delicate, potentially violent situations, and what effect their work has on their private lives. In close-knit communities, where officers may find themselves forced to arrest neighbors and relatives, police work is particularly difficult. That difficulty is compounded for police working among First Nations people dealing with high rates of suicide, substance abuse and child neglect while struggling to maintain their cultural integrity.