Richard Cardinal was a Metis boy who had a very sad, tragic life being moved from foster home to foster home. He encountered racism directly and by a child welfare system that was inherently discriminatory. His experience in the system and growing up Metis is much like the experiences faced by April Raintree. He ended his life at the age of 17. He left behind very detailed, intelligent, and emotional diary entries. This film is based on those and follows the events that led up to his death.

Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada