Rohrbach Library Home: Indigenous Film Festival: 2022 Festival

Films

Ama Ama tells an important and untold story: the abuses committed against Native American women by the US Government during the 1960s and 70s. The women were removed from their families and sent to boarding schools. They were subjected to forced relocation away from their traditional lands and, perhaps worst of all, they were subjected to involuntary sterilization.
AWAKE: A Dream from Standing Rock The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota captures world attention through their peaceful resistance against the U.S. government's plan to construct an oil pipeline through their land. --IMDb
Bounty ounty reveals the hidden story of the Phips Proclamation, one of many scalp-bounty proclamations used to exterminate Native people in order to take their land in what is now New England. In the film, Penobscot parents and children resist erasure and commemorate survival by reading and reacting to the government-issued Phips Proclamation’s call for colonial settlers to hunt, scalp, and murder Penobscot people.
Breaths In this evocative short documentary, Inuk singer-songwriter and humanitarian Susan Aglukark weaves together stories of artistry, family, and belonging as she explores the complex cultural shifts of the last 50 years of Inuit life. Turning her lens on the turbulence of colonial transition, director Nyla Innuksuk examines the forces that shaped Aglukark's voice and how that voice is now being translated for a new generation of Inuit artists.
Daughter of a Lost Bird “Lost birds” – a term for Native children adopted out of their tribal communities. Right after the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 became the law of the land, Kendra Mylnechuk Potter was adopted into a white family and raised with no knowledge of her Native parentage. This beautiful and intimate film follows Kendra on her journey to find her birth mother April, also a Native adoptee, and return to her Lummi homelands in Washington State. With a sensitive yet unflinching lens, director Brooke Swaney (Blackfeet/Salish) documents Kendra and April as they connect with relatives and navigate what it means to be Native, and to belong to a tribe from the outside looking in. Along the way, Kendra uncovers generations of emotional and spiritual beauty and pain and comes to the startling realization that she is a living legacy of U. S. assimilationist policy. By sharing a deeply personal experience of inherited cultural trauma, the film opens the door to broader and more complicated conversations about the erasure of Native culture and questions of identity surrounding adoption.
Fighting Indians "On May 16th, 2019, The State of Maine made history by passing LD 944 An Act to Ban Native American Mascots in All Public Schools, the first legislation of its kind in the country. For Maine’s tribal nations, the landmark legislation marked an end to a decades long struggle to educate the public on the harms of Native American mascotry. Fighting Indians chronicles the last and most contentious holdout in that struggle, the homogeneously white Skowhegan High School, known for decades as “The Home of the Indians.” This is the story of a small New England community forced to reckon with its identity, its sordid history, and future relationship with its indigenous neighbors. It is a story of a small town divided against the backdrop of a nation divided where the “mascot debate” exposes centuries old abuses while asking if reconciliation is possible." -- https://fightingindians.com/
First Stories: Two-Spirited Filmmaker Lydia Nibley explores the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder. Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits. Through telling Fred's story, Nibley reminds us of the values that America's indigenous peoples have long embraced. -IMDb
The Good Mind The Indigenous and sovereign Onondaga Nation – the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy – follows the Great Law of Peace, never accepted U.S. citizenship, has its own passport, and still maintains a traditional government led by Clanmothers and Chiefs, one of the world’s first true democracies that inspired the Founding Fathers of the United States and the women's suffrage movement. THE GOOD MIND spotlights the Onondaga Nation’s tireless environmental advocacy and their legal battle with the U.S. over ancestral land taken by New York State in violation of a 1794 treaty with George Washington. Motivated by ancient prophecies, the Nation seeks environmental stewardship of their sacred land and waters, which have suffered vast degradation by industrial resource extraction and pollution.
Holy Man: The USA vs. Douglas White Holy Man: The USA vs. Douglas White is the story of Douglas White, an 89 year old Lakota Sioux medicine man from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, who spent 17 years in federal prison for a crime he did not commit. During the making of this film, filmmakers uncovered new evidence of White’s “actual innocence” and brought the case back to federal court. Holy Man offers a rare glimpse into the mysterious world of Lakota religion, their intimate connection to the land, and a provocative expose of the systemic injustice that Native Americans face in the criminal justice system.
Home From School: The Children of Carlisle HOME FROM SCHOOL follows the difficult journey of Soldierwolf and tribal elders as they delve into the controversial history of Indian boarding schools, patch together the historic record and personal stories of the relatives who were shipped away, and, finally, travel to Carlisle to reunite with, and ultimately retrieve, the lost children of their tribe.
I Like Girls In this animated short from Diane Obomsawin, four women reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves, sharing funny and intimate tales of one-sided infatuation, mutual attraction, erotic moments, and fumbling attempts at sexual expression. For them, discovering that they're attracted to other women comes hand-in-hand with a deeper understanding of their personal identity and a joyful new self-awareness.
Jamie Okuma and Atumbi Metals fashion show Santa Fe Indian Market 2018 - Haute Couture Fashion Show - Jamie Okuma & Ataumbi Metals
Mankiller Wilma Mankiller, an advocate for women and Native Americans, defied all odds to become the Cherokee Nation's first female principal chief.
More Than a Word: Native American-Based Sports Mascots An exploration of Native American-based mascots, especially the Washington R_dskins, and their impact on real-life attitudes, issues, and policies.
Naked Island - Hipster Headdress This ultra-short film is an unapologetic confrontation of cultural appropriation and everything that's wrong with hipsters in headdresses. The takeaway? Just don't do it. Naked Island is a series of 14 super-short and incisive films that expose the dark underbelly of modern-day society.
Native/American Fashion 14 | Jessica Metcalfe Native/American Fashion: Inspiration, Appropriation, and Cultural Identity explores fashion as a creative endeavor and an expression of cultural identity, the history of Native fashion, issues of problematic cultural appropriation in the field, and examples of creative collaborations and best practices between Native designers and fashion brands. In this segment, we hear from the first panelist to speak on the topic Creative Collaborations, the founder and owner of Beyond Buckskin, Jessica Metcalfe.
Native Women: Politics An emotionally moving and upbeat program that gives voice to Aboriginal women. Historical segments in the program contrast the traditional equality of power, male to female within native communities, versus the regression in the roles and power of First Nations women in Canada under European dominance. Strong women "leaders" emphasize how they view the rebuilding of balanced self-government within their community in the future. The Indian Act and Bill C31 are examined to highlight their effect on First Nations women. Broadcast: Global Television - AWARD - Best Documentary, Native American Journalists Assoc.
Night Raiders (2021) 2043 - in a dystopian future a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are considered property of the regime which trains them to fight. A desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a State children's academy and get her daughter back. A parable about the experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America, NIGHT RAIDERS is a female-driven sci-fi drama about resilience, courage and love.
Owning Our Narrative as Native Women It's time for the big runway fashion show and pop-up shop showing off B.Yellowtail's new summer line, and as press coverage increases so too do Bethany's nerves.
Raven Goes Fishing Raven is hungry. Fishing in the Great Grizzly’s stream gets him in trouble but he just can’t resist teasing the bear! TELUS STORYHIVE supports compelling, original stories told by filmmakers from BC and Alberta by providing production funding, training and exposure to new audiences.
Red Fever Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge (RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World) team up again for RED FEVER, the follow-up to their award-winning feature documentary, Reel Injun. Red Fever follows Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond's journey to the four corners of North America and to Europe to uncover why the world is so fascinated with Native people. Through iconic and entertaining pop culture images, Red Fever looks at the roots of how and why Native cultures of North America have been revered, romanticized, appropriated - and in the process, uncovers the truth about the profound impact of Indigenous peoples on western culture.
Reel Injun The history of the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood films. -IMDb
Rhymes for Young Ghouls Red Crow Mi'gMaq reservation, 1976: by government decree, every Indian child under the age of 16 must attend residential school. In the kingdom of the Crow, that means imprisonment at St. Dymphna’s. That means being at the mercy of “Popper,” the sadistic Indian agent who runs the school.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
Stories from Our Land Vol. 2 - Finding Home This short film chronicles filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk's emotional journey to Nunavut to connect with the land of her ancestors and with her Inuk father, whom she has not seen in over 20 years. Nyla's return to her Igloolik birthplace culminates with a lesson on lighting a qulliq, the traditional Inuit oil lamp.
SWAIA - Indian Market 100 year 2022 - FASHION SHOW – JAMIE OKUMA While Europe was wearing burlap and rags as clothing, Indigenous People were designing creating Art as wearables from leather, Hemp, Shells, Paint, Turquoise, Coral, Mineral Stones, Jewelry, Feathers and Woven materials to display their tribal and clan associations as well as display their beauty and identity for ceremonies and personal identity. The Centennial Commemoration, Celebration and Indian Market convened in Santa Fe with week-long Exhibits, Entertainment Fashion Shows, Revelry and Community, joined by 1,500 artists from over 200 Federally recognized tribes with friends, relatives and citizens of Santa Fe for the centennial edition of Santa Fe Indian Market on August 18th – 20th showcasing Indigenous Art ranging from Traditional & Contemporary Artist to include Pottery, Jewelry, Painting, Beading, Sculpture, Carving, Crafts, Fashion, Films, created by generational, self-inspired and professionally trained artist from novice first time entrants to established individuals.
SWAIA - Indian Market 100 year 2022 - FASHION SHOW – SKAWENNATI While Europe was wearing burlap and rags as clothing, Indigenous People were designing creating Art as wearables from leather, Hemp, Shells, Paint, Turquoise, Coral, Mineral Stones, Jewelry, Feathers and Woven materials to display their tribal and clan associations as well as display their beauty and identity for ceremonies and personal identity. The Centennial Commemoration, Celebration and Indian Market convened in Santa Fe with week-long Exhibits, Entertainment Fashion Shows, Revelry and Community, joined by 1,500 artists from over 200 Federally recognized tribes with friends, relatives and citizens of Santa Fe for the centennial edition of Santa Fe Indian Market on August 18th – 20th showcasing Indigenous Art ranging from Traditional & Contemporary Artist to include Pottery, Jewelry, Painting, Beading, Sculpture, Carving, Crafts, Fashion, Films, created by generational, self-inspired and professionally trained artist from novice first time entrants to established individuals.
This River This short documentary offers an Indigenous perspective on the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who has disappeared. Volunteer activist Kyle Kematch and award-winning writer Katherena Vermette have both survived this heartbreak and share their histories with each other and the audience. While their stories are different, they both exemplify the beauty, grace, resilience, and activism born out of the need to do something.
Tribal Justice Two formidable Native American women, both chief judges in their tribe's courts, strive to reduce incarceration rates and heal their people by restoring rather than punishing offenders, modeling restorative justice in action. -IMDb
Two Spirits Examines the role of two-spirit people in the Navajo culture in the context of the story of a gay youth named Fred Martinez. Martinez was a nádleehí or a male-bodied person with a feminine essence, who was murdered in a hate crime at the age of sixteen. Discusses the traditional Native American perspective on gender and sexuality and the need for a balanced interrelationship between the feminine and masculine. Includes interviews with Martinez's mother, Pauline Mitchell.
Visual Voices: Contemporary Chickasaw Art Contemporary Chickasaw artists have a twenty-first century story to tell, interpreted through a thousand years of Southeastern indigenous histories. It is a two- and three-dimensional story of personal and collective Chickasaw identity, a story long overdue in American Indian art.
Warrior Women “Warrior Women” is the story of mothers and daughters fighting for indigenous rights in the American Indian Movement of the 1970s. The film unveils not only a female perspective of history, but also examines the impact political struggles have on the children who bear witness.
Without a Whisper WITHOUT A WHISPER - KONNON:KWE uncovers the hidden history of the profound influence Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States.

2022 Film Festival Poster

Kutztown University Film Lineup

Wednesday, November 9, McFarland Student Union Building, Alumni Auditorium:

12-2pm Ama

3-5pm Awake

6-8pm More Than a Word

Friday, November 11, McFarland Student Union Building, Alumni Auditorium

12-1pm Film Shorts on Indigenous Fashion

1-2pm Film Shorts on Two Spirits and Feminism

3-5pm Home from School

6-8pm Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Indigenous Film Festival: 2022 Festival

Welcome

Films

2022 Film Festival Poster

Kutztown University Film Lineup