Category Archives: Indigenous People

Liz Miller – THE SHORE LINE PROJECT

Liz Miller is a documentary maker and professor interested in new approaches to community collaborations and documentary as a way to connect personal stories to larger social concerns. She is a Full Professor in Communications Studies at Concordia University in Montreal and teaches courses in media production, methods in co-creation/ research-creation, Latin American film, Media-and-the-Environment, Food Systems and more. Her films/educational campaigns on timely issues such as water privatization, immigration, refugee rights and the environment have won international awards, been integrated into educational curricula and influenced decision makers. Liz Miller’s The Shoreline Project, which in a series of 2 dozen short films takes us around the world to meet people from myriad cultures and backgrounds, creatively responding to increasing realities of climate disruption, will be at this year’s Mendocino Film Festival in two formats: The film collection, The Shore Line, will screen at the Matheson this coming Saturday June – 1 at12:30 pm. The full interactive exhibit of The Shoreline Project, will be on display at the Festival Headquarters in Odd Fellows Hall,  during the entire festival.

Screen Shot 2019-05-29 at 3.41.54 PM.pngSefali is a Green Rhinos Youth Leader in Maipith, Sundarbans, India. After a devastating cyclone hit in 2009, she organized fellow students to plant trees around their homes and school.

Screen Shot 2019-05-29 at 3.40.35 PM.pngMatias Asun exchanged his job as Director of Greenpeace in Chile to become the Ambassador from the newly proclaimed Republica Glaciar after concluding that the Chilean government had abandoned glaciers. He lobbies the Legislature and pertinent boards to gain protection for them from mining companies and climate disruption.

Screen Shot 2019-05-29 at 3.40.57 PM.pngIoane Teitiota of the island nation of Kiribati was the first person in the world to apply for climate refugee status in New Zealand. Although his island is expected to be completely inundated within 20 years, the Immigration Board ruled that he and his family were not in danger of dying, so they were sent back. Noting that if he were granted asylum on grounds of climate change it would open the floodgate for millions of others ironically confirmed his reason for being granted asylum.

Screen Shot 2019-05-29 at 3.41.24 PM.pngWill Nelson is a biologist and a member of the Metlakatla Stewardship Council. They are engaged in using helicopters to map inter-tidal archeological sites to document their heritage in present day British Columbia, which they have maintained for at least the past 14,000 years. Structures such as clam gardens and clam middens establish their long-standing claims to the land to protect sensitive coastal areas from development.

 

After the interview with Liz Miller, we reported on the US Navy’s proposed Training & Testing, reading a PSA from Thaïs Mazur:

The Navy is seeking Federal Regulatory Permits under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to do weapons testing off the Mendocino coast, requesting a seven year permit to do the testing and training 12 miles offshore.
This is part of the larger Northwest Navy Training and Testing from Alaska to Northern California. The coast of Mendocino is a major migration route for gray whales and humpbacks.
The Navy is proposing activities that include anti-submarine warfare exercises involving tracking aircraft and sonar; surface-to-air gunnery and missile exercises; air-to-surface bombing exercises; and extensive testing for several new weapons systems.
U.S. Navy training exercises in the Pacific Ocean could kill, injure, or harm dozens of protected species of marine mammals — Southern Resident killer whales, blue whales, humpback whales, dolphins, and porpoises — through the use of high-intensity, mid-frequency sonar, which harass whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, 12.5 million times over the next five years. The use of sonar has been directly connected to many instances of beached whales, that have died from erupting lungs, ruptured ear drums and organ damage after military sonar exercises. Sonar exercises have also been found to cause mass strandings of whales.
The Navy is accepting comments on the DRAFT Supplemental EIS through June 12, 2019. Here is the link:
https://www.nwtteis.com/PublicInvolvement/Public-Comment

Parker Phillips – THE BYGONE

p-1.jpegBrothers Parker and Graham Phillips co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced a magnificent contemporary Western, THE BYGONE, which tackles difficult issues such as sex trafficking, missing and murdered Indigenous women, the decline of ranching, and the corrupting influence attending resource extraction.p-8.jpegWhen a young rancher, Kip Summer, played by Graham Parker, crosses paths and falls in love with a Lakota girl, Waniya, from a nearby reservation, her mysterious disappearance sparks a search that uncovers a harrowing past and hints at a dire future.p-3.jpegThe awful realities of sex trafficking among the man camps and bars in fracking site boom towns, and the inability of overwhelmed local law enforcement to cope leads to a dramatic series of show downs and shoot-outs in the best Western tradition.p-1.jpegThe well researched screenplay is rich with symbols and informed with a sensitivity to historic and current inequities between Indigenous and Anglo cultures, as well as the conflicts between ranching and fracking. The ensemble cast was clearly dedicated to portraying each character’s role with utter conviction.p-4.jpegThe cinematography serves the action far better than the normal Western and is deserving of its own award.

The Bygone will be having its premiere at the BZN International Film Festival on Friday, June 7 at 8pm in the Rialto Black Box. The filmmakers expect to attend for a Q&A.

For more information or to purchase tickets: bozemanfilmcelebration.com

 

Graham DuBose & S.K. DuBose – THE LAST BEYOND

Cemetery_bts7.JPGTHE LAST BEYOND is an intimate western set in Montana during the Great Depression about death, love, and rebirth. It follows a rancher named Stratton Eiseley who loses his father to illness and his ranch to foreclosure setting him adrift. Stratton Funeral 050619.jpgShortly after he meets three people and they change each other’s lives. Joe Running Elk and his grandfather, Flying Bear, are Pend o’Reille Indians who like Stratton feel like they’re living in a world that has left them behind. They become fugitives from twentieth century America and take to the mountains to make whiskey and restore their connection to the land. Joe-Opening.png Noah Watts, who plays Joe Running Elk, is a member of the Crow and Blackfeet tribes and grew up in Bozeman, MT.  Flying Bear 1.pngStephen Small Salmon, who plays Flying Bear, is a Pend d’Oreille elder from the Salish-Kootenai Reservation. They converse in Salish with English subtitles.Stratton and Gracie 050619.jpgAs Stratton falls in love with a writer named Gracie Loren it seems that their lives are improving, but trouble follows them.Gracie 4.pngTHE LAST BEYOND was filmed in Livingston, the Gallatin National Forest, Paradise Valley and other locations familiar to the Gallatin Valley community. Graham&Sara (CH) 050719.jpgHusband and wife filmmakers, writer/director, Graham DuBose, and  editor/producer, S.K. DuBose, will be attending the screening of THE LAST BEYOND, which will be having its premiere at the upcoming BZN International Film Festival on June 7, 2019 at 3pm in the Rialto Black Box.

For more information or to purchase passes:    bozemanfilmcelebration.com

 

David Treuer – The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present

David Treuer is Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. The author of four previous novels, most recently Prudence, and two books of nonfiction, he has also written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate, and The Washington Post, among others. He has a Ph.D. in anthropology and teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.

David Treuer’s latest book, THE HEARTBEAT OF WOUNDED KNEE: NATIVE AMERICA FROM 1890 TO THE PRESENT, is published by Riverhead Books.

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Here is an edited extract from The Heartbeat at Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present, referenced in this interview, which was published in The Guardian.

The rightwing supreme court has another target: Native American rights https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/21/supreme-court-native-american-rights-target

From casinos to cannabis: the Native Americans embracing the pot revolution https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/mar/15/from-casinos-to-cannabis-the-native-americans-embracing-the-pot-revolution

Native Americans are at the heart of Yellowstone. After 150 years, they are finally being heard https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/native-americans-are-at-the-heart-of-yellowstone-after-150-years-they-are-finally-being-heard-aoe

This Supreme Court Case on Hunting Is Really About a 150-Year-Old Treaty and Wyoming’s Existence as a State https://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-case-hunting-really-180053748.html;_ylt=AwrVrN4eDjZc_FIAK6YPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw–

A Tribal Camp in South Texas Is Vowing to Resist Trump’s Wall https://truthout.org/articles/a-tribal-camp-in-south-texas-is-vowing-to-resist-trumps-wall/

European colonization of Americas helped cause climate change https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/31/european-colonization-of-americas-helped-cause-climate-change

Julian Brave Noisecat

Julian Brave NoiseCat is an enrolled member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq’escen in British Columbia. He is a graduate of Columbia University, and received a Clarendon Scholarship to study global and imperial history at the University of Oxford. He was formerly the native issues fellow at The Huffington Post. He writes for The Guardian, The Nation, The Paris Review, CBC, Vice, Pacific Standard, Dissent, Jacobin, Fusion, Indian Country Today, Salon, High Country News, Canadian Geographic, Frontier Magazine, World Policy Journal as well as other publications.

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Julian Brave NoiseCat, a contributing editor of the newly unveiled Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, points on a giant map at a launch event in Toronto, Wednesday August 29, 2018. The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada includes a four volume print atlas, an online atlas, an app, and a giant floor map. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch)

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To find out more about the Tribal Canoe Journey for the 50th anniversary of  Alcatraz : https://www.canoejourney2019.com/

Here are links to articles referenced in this interview:

How a River Was Granted Personhood  https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/587689/river-me/

His side of the story: Nathan Phillips wants to talk about Covington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/04/nathan-phillips-his-story-hate-division-covington

‘This is my home’: growing anger in Canada over projects on indigenous lands https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/11/canada-pipeline-indigenous-trudeau-treaty

Trans Mountain pipeline halted after Canadian court overturns approval https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/30/trans-mountain-pipeline-latest-canada-court-overturns

The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Hikianalia Journey to Californiahttps://bombmagazine.org/articles/the-polynesian-voyaging-societys-hikianalia-journey-to-california/

The Tribal Canoe Journey, an odyssey to reclaim tradition and territory   https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/tribal-canoe-journey-odyssey-reclaim-tradition-and-territory

After grisly murder, stop delaying passage of Savanna’s Act http://www.startribune.com/after-grisly-murder-stop-delaying-passage-of-savanna-s-act/503171711/

Missing and Murdered     http://www.frontier.is/missing-and-murdered/

Disruption Beyond Standing Rock    https://www.vanalen.org/stories/disruption-beyond-standing-rock/

Standing Rock inspired Ocasio-Cortez to run. That’s the power of protest https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/14/standing-rock-ocasio-cortez-protest-climate-activism

Native Americans Take Power    http://inthesetimes.com/features/native-american-voters-government-political-revolution.html

Indigenous Struggle Is Key to a Green New Deal       https://truthout.org/articles/indigenous-struggle-is-key-to-a-green-new-deal/

Dahr Jamail THE END OF ICE: Bearing Witness & Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption

We first had Dahr Jamail on Forthright Radio in March, 2005 with Mark Manning, to discuss what was going on with the U.S.’s Second Siege of Fallujah, Iraq. He courageously went there un-embedded and defied the military information blockade to report what had actually happened there. Since then he has been our guest five times over the years.

For the past few years, he has been focusing on Climate Disruption in various journals, including truthout.org, where he had been publishing monthly Climate Dispatches.

And now his book, THE END OF ICE: BEARING WITNESS AND FINDING MEANING IN THE PATH OF CLIMATE DISRUPTION has been published by The New Press. He goes to many places around the world and speaks with indigenous people and scientists on the front lines of what can only be described as an accelerating global disaster of human caused climate disruption, geological change and mass extinction. Unlike most other narratives of climate disruption, not only does he document the science, but he also addresses the emotional, psychological, philosophical and ethical dimensions.

I was struck by a simple observation he makes between the outlook of dominant settler colonialist cultures, which speak of rights, and of most indigenous cultures, which emphasize obligations. That lead to what one of your interviewees called “the con job of hope and hopelessness,” and what you say is “the necessity of unblocking grief.”

Thus, our interview began..

Articles pertinent to this Interview:

When the Ice Melts: The Catastrophe of Vanishing Glaciers (Dahr Jamail) https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/08/when-the-ice-melts-the-catastrophe-of-vanishing-glaciers

Huge ‘hot blob’ in Pacific Ocean killed nearly a million seabirds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/16/hot-blob-ocean-seabirds-killed-new-zealand-north-america

Ocean temperatures hit record high as rate of heating accelerates https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/ocean-temperatures-hit-record-high-as-rate-of-heating-accelerates

Polar Vortex Clobbers Midwest With Record-Breaking Cold https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/polar-vortex-2019-midwest-northeast_us_5c504437e4b0d9f9be691b6e

Children’s climate rallies gain momentum in Europe https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46999381

The New Language of Climate Change https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/01/27/climate-change-politics-224295

We Are Destroying Our Life Support System https://truthout.org/articles/we-are-destroying-our-life-support-system/

This Could Be The Biggest Scandal Of The Climate Change Era https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-plan_us_5c41c704e4b0bfa693c2a90b

Legality of Drilling Permits Issued During Shutdown Challenged https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-24/senate-votes-on-ending-shutdown-threaten-a-return-to-deadlock

North American glaciers melting much faster than 10 years ago – study https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/18/north-america-glacier-melt-study-climate-change

Study: Yellowstone’s forests could become grasslands by mid-century https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/yellowstone_national_park/study-yellowstone-s-forests-could-become-grasslands-by-mid-century/article_501326d6-190d-5300-96be-84e82ab63bf4.html

Google, Facebook And Microsoft Sponsored A Conference That Promoted Climate Change Denial https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/google-facebook-microsoft-climate-denial_us_5c48dfcbe4b083c46d650d9f

Corporate America Is Getting Ready to Monetize Climate Change https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/muggy-disney-parks-downed-at-t-towers-firms-tally-climate-risk

Lauren E. Oakes – In Search of the Canary Tree

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IN SEARCH OF THE CANARY TREE: THE STORY OF A SCIENTIST, A CYPRESS, AND A CHANGING WORLD, published by Basic Books, chronicles the six years Lauren E. Oakes, PhD, spent beginning in 2010, as a young Stanford University scientist, doing doctoral research in South East Alaska, studying the mysterious die-back of ancient yellow cedar trees. Hers was a multi-disciplinary approach. In addition to the grueling field work studying thousand of trees, and countless other plants in the changing forests, she also interviewed local folks, including native Tlingit weavers, timber operators, other scientists, and just regular folks who enjoy the forests for recreation. There were many surprises along the way, which she shares with us in this interview.

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Yellow cedar rejected for threatened species listing  https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/us/yellow-cedar-rejected-for-threatened-species-listing/article_746560f2-a98d-58da-9058-4ab90e154225.html#tncms-source=infinity-scroll-summary-siderail-latest

Trump Denies Protection to Ancient Alaskan Cedar Trees Threatened by Climate Crisis, Logging       https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-denies-protection-ancient-alaskan-cedar-trees-threatened-climate-crisis-logging-2019-10-04/

 

Christi Cooper: YOUTH V GOV

In this edition of Radio Goes to the Movies, we speak with Bozeman resident, Christi Cooper, about her years of work documenting the increasingly powerful movement of young people, who are challenging the U.S. Government and the fossil fuel industry for violation of their Constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment to Life, Liberty and Property.Our-Childrens-Trust-Lawsuit-889x610.jpg

Her film, a work in progress, YOUTH V. GOV, screens at the BZN International Film Festival on June 9 at the Willson Auditorium at 7:45 p.m.  Victoria Barrett, a 19-year-old college student from White Plains, NY, who is one of 21 youth plaintiffs suing the U.S. government in the landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit, will also be attending for a discussion afterwards.

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In this groundbreaking civil rights lawsuit, guided by Julia Olson, their lead attorney, 21 American youth take the US government and the fossil fuel industry to court for creating a climate emergency that threatens the future of the youngest generations.

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This is not the typical climate change film. YOUTH V GOV brings a new perspective not yet explored. And in the end, YOUTH V GOV will activate youth, millennials, and adults to engage as citizens and to lean heavily on the pillars of democracy that we rely on for the future of our country and the world.

Gale Anne Hurd MANKILLER

GALE NEW HEAD SHOT.jpgIn this edition of Radio Goes to the Movies, Gale Anne Hurd tells us about her feature length film, MANKILLER, which recounts the life of Wilma Mankiller, who overcame rampant sexism and personal challenges to emerge as the Cherokee Nation’s first woman Principal Chief in 1985.

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It is the story of an American hero. One who stands tall amongst the likes of Robert Kennedy, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone who humbly defied the odds and overcame insurmountable obstacles to fight injustice and gave a voice to the voiceless. And yet few people know her name.

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Although beset with numerous health problems over many years, Wilma Mankiller persevered in breaking the cycle of poverty among her people and forged a new economic model to bring health and prosperity to the Cherokee Nation.

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She was the embodiment of the Cherokee principle of Gadugi – in a positive manner that benefits the entire community.

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MANKILLER Centerpiece Screening at the Bozeman International Film Festival

WHEN:  Saturday June 9th, 8:15pm

WHERE:  The Crawford Theater at the Emerson Center for Arts and Culture;  111 South Grand Avenue, Bozeman, MT 59715

A Q&A with Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd and Director/Producer Valerie Red-Horse Mohl to follow.

Discounted individual ticket offer here: https://bit.ly/2IAdRfB

Jill Momaday Return to Rainy Mountain

 

In this edition of Radio Goes to the Movies, we speak with Jill Momaday about her documentary short film, RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN.

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Based on the life of her father, Pulitzer Prize winning author, N. Scott Momaday, they retrace the route of his bestselling book, The Way to Rainy Mountain, visiting sacred Kiowa ancestral sites that inform the ancient myths, legends and oral traditions of their people.
It will be screening Friday morning, June 8 at 10:00 in the Hager Auditorium in the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT, as part of the BZN International Film Festival51BPPGQYm0L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg.