Aboriginal people are emerging from that dark period, when they could be jailed simply for dancing and are reclaiming their healing power through their ancestry. The videotape documents a journey of renewal and celebration. In 1996, a company of twelve Aboriginal dancers and seven instructors with both traditional and contemporary dance experience arrived in Banff to create Chinook Winds: The First Aboriginal Dance Project at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Together, inspired by the traditions of Aboriginal culture, they pushed the boundaries of contemporary dance, creating a new dance language that is a dynamic and powerful voice for contemporary Aboriginal culture. With direction from choreographer Alejandro Ronceria Chinook Winds: The First Aboriginal Dance Project documents the creation and performance of this first dance project.

Chinook Winds is perhaps the most active and creative dance study and performance program for Natives in the hemisphere. The Aboriginal Arts Program and the intention of the Chinook Winds Aboriginal Dance program was to create a safe working space, build community and respect for the individual and their process of learning.