INDIGENOUS FILM+ ONLINE+
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues April 17 - 28
National Poetry Month (US)
Earth Day April 22
National Canadian Film Day April 19
EARTH DAY and UNPFII 2023
Films and Events | In-person
National Museum of the American Indian
NMAI-DC “Living Earth Festival: Native Nations Confronting Climate Change”
Sat-Sun, April 22-23. 10 am - 5 pm. Free. In-person in Washington, DC and livestreamed
From water scarcity to floods and erosion, Native nations are addressing climate change across Indian Country. Join the museum for a weekend of conversations, presentations, and artist demonstrations that explore how Indigenous communities are stepping forward with aggressive plans to protect their ways of life.
NMAI-NYC | "Earth Day Berry Bash Celebration"
Sat, April 22, 2023, 11 AM – 4 PM. Free. In-person in New York City
Blueberries, chokeberries, cranberries, huckleberries—berries of all kinds are an important part of Indigenous food traditions. Join the museum in a springtime celebration that includes storytelling and educational demonstrations about this delicious food with deep cultural roots.
Scandinavia House
“Climate Action - Future Changes”
Fri-Sat, April 21-22. Free with registration. In-person in New York City
The American-Scandinavian Foundation and the AIFF | Arctic Indigenous Film Fund present a special film event held in cooperation with the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues 2023. “Climate Action — Future Changes,” explores the fight of the Arctic ‘s Indigenous peoples against climate change through films and media. The event begins with a panel discussion and reception with food from the Arctic on Friday, April 21, followed by film screenings on April 22.
Fri, April 21, 6-8 pm
Introduction and Welcome
Anne Lajla Utsi, CEO International Sámi Film Institute
Kyle Reinhart, ASF Manager of Education and Cultural Programs
Mr. Dariio Mejia Montalvo, Chair of the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues
Mr. Aslak Holmberg, President, Saami Council
Indigenous Film Discussion with
Elle Máijá Tailfeathers (Film Director, Sámi/Blackfoot, Canada)
Emile Hertling Péronard (Film Producer, Inuk, Greenland)
Anna Hoover (Film Director, Unangax̂, USA)
Liisa Holmberg (AIFF, Sápmi)
Moderator: Jason Ryle (Canada)
Sat, April 22, 2-4 pm
Night Raiders
Narrative feature. Canada, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Danis Goulet. Prod. Taika Waititi. In 2043, a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America, where children are the property of the state. Night Raidersfollows Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) as a Cree woman who joins a resistance movement to the military government in order to save her daughter
Preceded by 3 short films: Salmon Reflection Documentary. US/Alaska. Anna Hoover. A portal into an Indigenous worldview of what salmon need through carefully curated voices and visuals, as well as Aassanaaq Kairairuak’s Yup’ik song Seal Boy, that communicate the sacred reverence held by Hoover and her culture for salmon. Ealát Documentary. Sapmi/Norway. Elle-Marja Eira. Through the filmmaker’s eyes, we follow her family in this film about living and surviving in Sámi reindeer husbandry during strange times. Ivalu Narrative. Greenland. Anders Walter, Pipaluk. Jørgensen. Prod. Emile Hertling Péronard (Greenland) Ivalu is gone. Her little sister is desperate to find her; her father does not care. The vast Greenlandic nature holds secrets. The search for Ivalu is on. Nominated for 2023 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard
2023 Tanner Lectures on Human Values
Margaret Redsteer | “Climate Futures and Structural Paradigms”
April 12-13. Free and open to the public. In-person in Cambridge, MA. Seating is on first come, first served basis
Margaret Redsteer’s Tanner Lectures at Harvard draw on her experiences working with Indigenous communities to adapt to a changing climate and will consider what has been left out of narratives about the challenges we face.
Dr, Redsteer teaches at the University of Washington Bothell, and previously served as a Research Scientist for the US Dept of the Interior and the US Geological Survey based in Flagstaff Science Center, where she worked on water issues for the Navajo Nation. In the Southwest, she has examined aspects of drought and increasing aridity that have not been well quantified, including seasonal changes to surficial processes and ecologic conditions. Incorporating Indigenous knowledge from tribal elders about the changes they have observed has aided her research in elucidating the effects of increasing temperatures in poorly monitored regions of the US. The lectures will be recorded and online following the live events.
April 12 “On Resilience: A Capacity to Absorb Disturbances and Shocks” will be centered around what defines resilience and why tribal communities are among the most resilient and yet very vulnerable to climate change. Discussant: Clint Carroll, professor, University of Colorado Boulder
April 13 “Barriers to Transforming Climate Dialogues” focuses on how the historical implementation of policies led to significant failures and to current attitudes about reform of land use practices. Discussant: Rebecca Tsosie, professor, University of Arizona College of Law
On April 14 in a seminar open to Harvard affiliates only Margaret Redsteer and Philip Deloria discuss the role of local and Indigenous knowledge, why it is different from conventional science, and why that matters. Registration required.
Films and Events | Online and Hybrid
DCEFF Online | Earth Day Encores
April 18-23. Free. Online
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital celebrates Earth Day with virtual encore screenings from more than 50 films from the 2023 festival. 11 features include films that focus on regional activism--the Philippines Louisiana, Idaho--with Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists working together and include Delikado; Hollow Tree; Upstream, Down River, and many short films as well.
Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, Int'l
WECAN Events and Advocacy at UNPII 2023
During the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues meetings, many additional events take place in New York City at host sites. For information about the participants and details about these panels, please consult the WECAN website.
"Indigenous Women Upholding Indigenous Rights and Knowledge, and Leading Climate Solutions"
Wed, April 19, 5-8 pm. Free with registration. In-person at Church Center, 777 United Nations Plaza, NYC
“Uplifting Women Human Rights Defenders and Advancing the Escazú Agreement”
Thurs, April 20. Free. Online with registration (12:30-2 pm in Buenos Aires; 11:30 - 1 pm in NYC, 9:30-12 am in Mexico City, 8:30-10 am in California)
“Indigenous Women from North America Defending Biodiversity, Human Rights, and our Global Climate”
Thurs, April 20. Free. Online with registration (2-3 pm in Buenos Aires, 1-2 pm in NYC, 11-12 am in Mexico City, 10-11 am in California)
Monadnock Earth Day Film Festival
April 19 - 22. Free. Online
A program of the New Hampshire Food Alliance, dedicated to “growing a thriving,fair, sustainable local food system in the Granite State.” Explore the on-demand catalog and check out the post film discussions to order.
Feature films include
Inhabitants follows five Native American tribes across deserts, coastlines, forests, and prairies as they restore their traditional land management practices in response to drought brought by climate change.
Short format documentaries include
Seeds of Our Children Hopi farmer Michael Kotutwa Johnson combines Indigenous ways of growing with modern science to live through the current drought in the Southwest.
Counter Mapping Jim Enote, a traditional Zuni elder, farmer, and director of the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center offers a new way of looking at maps based on indigenous voices and perspective rooted in place.
MORE FILMS and FESTIVALS
US, Canada
Scandinavia House - Film Program
The End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock
April 14, 7 pm. Free with RSVP. In-person in New York City
The End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock Feature documentary. US/Finland. Shannon Kring. The story of a group of Indigenous women willing to risk their lives to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated their ancient burial and prayer sites and threatens their land water and very existence. Discussion follows with the director Shannon Kring and activists and Standing Rock Sioux tribal members Phyllis Young and Wašté Wičaku Win Yellow Lodge.
PBS’ La Frontera with Pati Jinich
S2/E2 “Ancient Seeds & Desert Ghosts”
This episode includes an investigation of the traditional foods with scenes with Tohono O’odham whose nation is crossed by the borders established consecutively by Spain, Mexico and US. Tribal members who speak include Duran Andrews and Amy Juan, both managers of the nation’s San Javier Cooperative farm, and Phyllis Valenzuela, the coop farm’s chef, as well as others in the competition for cooking with traditional ingredients at a the annual food festival. One observation is how important food knowledge is for culture, and how significant traditional foods of desert peoples stand to be in the future facing global warming. Available as broadcast, on PBS App, and PBS Passport.
National Canadian Film Day
April 19. In-person in various locations in Canada. Streaming on multiple platforms in Canada and the US for most of the films.
On April 19, 2023, National Canadian Film Day (CanFilmDay) is turning ten. To make it festive, the organizers have organized 10 films in 10 sections they’ve named after parts of a buffet. So this year’s spotlight showcases 100 titles, a broad and diverse cross-section of Canadian film, from critically-acclaimed award winners to new releases.Screenings are throughout Canada on April 19. Ongoing streaming platforms include iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Kanopy, NFB One, Apple TV+, The Roku Channel, Crave, APTN Lumi
11 films directed by Indigenous directors are being spotlighted:
- Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner Narrative (2001) Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
- Angry Inuk Documentary (2016) Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Inuk)
- Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Documentary (1993) Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
- Beans Narrative (2020) Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
- Wildhood Narrative (2021) Bretten Hannah (L'nu)
- The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open Narrative (2019) Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn
- Run Woman Run Narrative (2021) Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Heiltsuk/Mohawk)
- L'Inhumain (The Inhuman) Narrative (2022). Jason Brennan (Anishnaabe)
- Slash/Back Narrative (2022) Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk)
- Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On Documentary (2022) Madison Thomas (Ojibwa/Saulteaux)
- ROSIE Narrative (2022) Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)
Chicago Latino Film Festival
April 21 and 23 (for the titles here). Tickets. In-person in Chicago
Feature documentaries;
I Am Berta Colombia. Katia Lara.On March 2, 2016, environmental activist Berta Cáceres was gunned down by hired hitmen. She had led the Lenca people in their efforts to stop the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the Gualcarque River. Two nights before her assassination, Cáceres wrote down the names of the people and companies who wanted her dead. The film ttraces the efforts of a local journalist and an international lawyer to solve Berta’s murder which led to the 2021 guilty verdict of those responsible.
Eami Paraguay. Paz Encina. Winner of the Tiger Award at the 2022 Rotterdam International Film Festival and Paraguay’s official selection for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, Paz Encina’s sensorial documentary hybrid reveals the impact of deforestation over Paraguay’s Ayoreo Totobiegosode native people through their own mythology. The Asojá, the bird-god-woman, takes the form of 5-year-old Eami, who is in a trance after her village is destroyed. Her memories are the only way to keep her people alive.
San Francisco Film Festival
April 13-23. Tickets. In-person in San Francisco
Feature documentaries
Bad Press US. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker (Muscogee (Creek)) and Joe Peeler. For First Nations journalists, reporting the news is wildly complicated. Transparency and fact finding are not protected on sovereign tribal lands where local politics are intertwined with newspaper funding. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, who is the executive director of the Native American Journalists Association, portrays the story of brave muckrakers at Mvskoke Media who risk it all to hold those in power accountable. Sundance Special Jury Award.
Against the Tide India. Sarvnik Kaur. As the Arabian Sea’s fish population dwindles, two fishermen from Mumbai’s Koli community endeavor to change their fortunes. United by a shared ambition, their friendship is tested when each man chooses different technology. The Koli, an aboriginal tribe of fishermen, were the earliest known inhabitants of the location of present-day Mumbai. In modern times Koli communities in different states in India have been variously identified as a caste or a Tribal people.
MORE FILMS and FESTIVALS
International
It’s All True / É Tudo Verdade - International Documentary Film Festival
Apr 13-23. Tickets. In-person in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
Indigenous films
The Clash Brazil. Feature documentary. Vicente Ferraz. In Portuguese, Baniwa, Hupda, Yanomami, Tukano. At the the meeting point between Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, in a vast and little-known territory called Cabeça de Cachorro, the film follows the crossings made by characters who transit between their villages and the indigenous city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira. It captures a universe of multiethnic exchanges and of great linguistic diversity. It highlights the relationship of the original peoples with their dreams and with their mystical practices and points out the ways of survival of these peoples who inhabit a region of extreme beauty, but which today is threatened by narco-mining.
Read More
The Tree of Dream Brazil. Documentary short. Morzaniel Iramari Yanomami. In Yanomami with English subtitles.When the flowers of the Mari tree bloom, dreams arise. The words of a great shaman lead to an oneiric experience through the synergy between cinema and the Yanomami dream, presenting poetics and teachings of the peoples of the forest.
Vānh Gō Tō Laklānõ Brazil. Documentary short.Barbara Pettres, Flávia Person, Walderes Coctá Pripá. In Portuguese, Laklānõ with subtitles. An archaeologist, a poet, a shepherd and kujá, a teacher, and a rap singer trace the history of their people, the Laklãnõ/Xokleng, inhabitants of southern Brazil: the time of wilderness, the near extinction, the resumption of the language and of culture, and political protagonism.
MOOOV - Films Facing the World
April 21-30 (for the titles here). In-person in various locations in Belgium.
Indigenous films
Sweet As Dramatic feature. Australia. Job Clerc. An indigenous Australian teenage girl is abandoned by her mother. What happens next is an uplifting trip off the beaten track, full of unconventional friendships, first loves and self-discovery.
Utama Dramatic feature. Alejandro Loayza Grisi. The elders couple Virginio and Isa live in the vast Andean highlands. He takes care of their herd of llamas, she fetches the water in the arid land. Life becomes more challenging by the day, and then their grandson arrives from the city...
War Pony. Dramatic feature. US. Gina Gannell, Riley Keough. Two indigenous teens try to make something of their life, in spite of the difficult conditions in the reservation. This respectful film, void of any judgement, was awarded with the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Brujería. Dramatic feature. Chile. Christopher Murray. This historic film about a reckoning in 19th century Chile expresses fierce criticism against European colonialism and imperialism, that still resonate until today.
PERFORMANCE
Theater, Concert
Roundhouse Theatre
On The Far End: A Native American Activist’s True Story
April 1 - May 7. Tickets. In-person in Bethesda, MD
On the Far End: A Native American Activist’s True Story. World Premiere. Written and performed by Mary Kathryn Nagle. Directed by Margot Bordelon.
Muscogee leader Jean Hill Chaudhuri traces her family’s history from the Trail of Tears to her grandfather’s allotment in central Oklahoma. In an astonishing one-woman play, she shares her story—the Native boarding school she fled on foot, her marriage to a young Bengali scholar, and the advocacy that became her life’s work. With On the Far End, a reference to the landmark 2020 Supreme Court opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma that upheld the sovereignty of the Muscogee territories, one of America’s leading playwrights (Sovereignty; Manahatta) weaves a deeply personal account of one family—her own mother-in-law’s—and a legacy of broken promises between nations.
Panel Discussion “The State of Indian Law: A Round House Discussion”
Sun, April 23. Following the 2 pm performance
On the Far End is directly inspired by the 2020 Supreme Court opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, but it also traces centuries of broken promises. Join playwright and performer Mary Kathryn Nagle, Muscogee Nation Ambassador Jonodev Chaudhuri, and Muscogee Nation lead counsel Riyaz Kanji for a discussion of McGirt and its impact, as well as other recent and upcoming developments in Indian Law.
GEVA Theatre
And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears
April 4 - 23. Tickets. In-person in Rochester, NY
And So We Walked Written and performed by DeLanna Studi. Directed by Corey Madden. This frank, heartwarming and inspiring story recounts the experience of DeLanna Studi, Cherokee performance artist and activist, who, with her father, embarks on an incredible 900-mile journey along the Trail of Tears to truly understand her own identity and the conflicts of her nation. The play recounts the six-week journey, which retraced the path her great-great grandparents took in the 1830s during the forced relocation of 17,000 Cherokee from their homelands. Studi received the 2016 Butcher Scholar Award from The Autry Museum of the American West in acknowledgement of her work on this performance piece.
Associated Events
Sun, April 16, 2 pm. “Sunday Salon” after the Performance. A conversation with Delanna Studi (Cherokee) and Judy Buckley (Cherokee), Vice President, Friends of Ganondagan Board of Trustees
Wed, April 19, 7:30 pm. “GEVA Insights” and Performance. GEVA Insights Speaker Pete Hill (Cayuga) focuses on integrating Native American cultural perspectives into program design, and is an expert on Indian Residential schools and the historical impact and contemporary legacies of the Doctrine of Discovery.
New Native Theatre
This is How We Got Here
April 19-May 7. Tickets. In-person in Saint Paul, MN
This is How We Got Here. Written by Keith Barker (Métis). Directed by Rhiana Yazzie (Navajo). With original music composed by Danielle Jagelski (Oneida). US Premiere. The story of the year following the suicide of a teen whose family still grapples with the ways their lives have been irrevocably changed and the exploration of the confusing and transformative process of grieving. The cast is made up of both newcomers and seasoned actors representing Lakota, Ho-Chunk, and Cree communities: Thomas Draskovic, Genevieve Lane, Jalisa McKee, and Canadian First Nations’ film and TV actor, Mistatim. (Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2020 & 2018 Governor General’s Shortlist).
BGC’s “Shaped by the Loom” Exhibition
“Scenes from Dinétah”
April 26, 6:00 pm. Tickets. In-person in New York City.
A concert with acclaimed Diné pianist and composer Connor Chee, featuring piano pieces written about elements of Navajo life, land, and culture, including weaving. It will be followed by a conversation with "Shaped by the Loom" exhibition curator Hadley Jensen.
TALKING ABOUT
Photography, Poetry, Film
Heard Museum Virtual Art Talk
"Site/Sight-Specific: Dine Photography and Belonging"
April 19, 12 - 1 pm AZ time (3 - 4 pm EDT). Livestreamed. Preregistration required
An online discussion with Rapheal Begay (Diné), moderated by Roshii Montaño, assistant registrar. Heard Museum. A visual presentation of select phorographs on the Navajo Nation and relating to the cultural landscape, stories of home informed and inspired by Dine philosophies of hózhó, k’é, and t’áá hwó ájí t’éégo – beauty, balance, kinship, and perseverance. Begay’s research and practice include curatorial collaboration and community organizing informed by visual sovereignty and land-based knowledge.
Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS)
April Virtual Book Club
Joy Harjo’s Living Nations, Living Words
Wed, April 26, 7-9 pm EDT. Free with registration. Online
This month, in celebration of National Poetry Month, IAIS's Virtual Book Club is reading and discussing Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples’ Poems. Curated and introduced by 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Muskogee), this anthology is a companion to her signature laureate project, which gathers the work of contemporary Native poets into a national digital map of story, sound, and space.
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Online Book Club Joy Harjo's An American Sunrise Poems
Free. Online.
A recorded discussion from the Pueblo Book Club, hosted by Jon Ghahate, with special guest author Joy Harjo, Muskogee/Creek poet/musician and the 23rd Poet Laureate of the US. An American Sunrise Poems is a poetic narrative of her Muskogee people, who were forcibly removed from their aboriginal homelands in the 1680s. This poetic narrative exemplifies of how the Muskogee peoples keep relevant their culture, core values, social constructs, and inter-connectedness with their world. Originally held online on November 24, 2020.
National Museum of the American Indian
NMAI Youth In Action: “Film Futures” | Juventud en acción: “Futuros del cine”
Apr 1 - 30. Online. In English with English and Spanish captions.
How are emerging filmmakers using film as a force for activism? Moderator James Lujan (Taos Pueblo), Anpa’o Locke (Húŋkpapȟa Lakota/Ahtna Dené), Lejend Yazzie (Diné), and Petyr Xyst (Laguna Pueblo) discuss how Native film is changing perceptions about Indigenous peoples and what the future holds. Recorded live on April 1, 2023.
ART EXHBITIONS and EVENTS
Whitney Museum of American Art
“Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map”
April 19 - August 2023. Tickets. In-person in New York City
A retrospective and a timely look at the groundbreaking work of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (b. 1940, citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation) brings together five decades of the artist’s drawings, prints, paintings and sculptures. Her work engages with contemporary modes of making, from her idiosyncratic adoption of abstraction to her reflections on American Pop art. Her work reflects herbelief that her “life’s work involves examining contemporary life in American and interpreting it through Native ideology.” Across the decades and mediums, Smith has deployed and reappropriated ideas of mapping history, and environmentalism, while incorporating personal and collective memories. The exhibition is organized by Laura Phipps, Assistant Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, with Caitlin Chaisson, Curatorial Project Assistant.
Scandinavia House
“Arctic Highways - Unbounded Indigenous People”
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