2007-2008 Season Programming:

Documentaries at Augsburg:
Science Hall, Room 123, 707 21st. Avenue South
Limited parking will be available in Lot A (see map)

November 4, 2007
Way of the Warrior (Patty Loew, 2007), Hosted by Patricia Loew
Time: 6-8 pm Film Screening, 8:30-10:00 Reception (Wolves Den)

Way of the Warrior uses personal stories of heroes and soldiers to examine the warrior ethic and to try to answer the question why, during the wars of the 20th century, Native men and women volunteered to serve in the U.S. military in numbers that far exceeded their proportion in the general population. These gripping stories from WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam weave a tapestry of positive and negative themes—the warrior ethic, prejudice and stereotypes, forced assimilation, poverty, cultural pride, redemptive acts and healing.  The documentary uses historical footage, period photographs, Native music, personal diaries and interviews to reveal what it means to be “ogichidaa,” one who protects and follows the way of the warrior.

More information:
www.wpr.org/book/070701a.html
www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/printer_6618.shtml

January 30, 2008
Return of Navajo Boy (Jeff Speitz, 2000), Hosted by Sandy White Hawk with special guest John Wayne Cly.
Time: 7-8:30 pm Film Screening
8:30-9:30 pm Conversation with Sandy White Hawk, director of First Nations Orphan Association and John Wayne Cly (Navajo Boy)

Return of Navajo Boy chronicles an extraordinary chain of events, beginning with the appearance of a 1950s film reel Navajo Boy, which leads to the return of a long lost brother to his Navajo family.  The film uses a series of still photographs and moving images to tell the story of a family living in Monument valley, the impact of uranium mining, and the reunification of an adoptee with his Navajo family. 

More Information:
www.navajoboy.com

March 12, 2008
Buffy St. Marie: A Multimedia Life (Joan Prowse), Hosted by Joan Prowse
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. -- Reception for students w/ Joan Prowse (Century             Room, Christensen Center lower level)
            7 - 8 p.m. -- Screening
            8 - 9 p.m. -- Conversation with host

This film is the story of a remarkable woman and storyteller who shared her life and songs with the world.  This documentary chronicles her career as she rises to prominence in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene and blazes a groundbreaking path as an Aboriginal activist, digital artist and popular songwriter.

More Information:
www.filmwest.com/Catalogue/itemdetail/3308/

New Voices in Native Media
Hosted by Indigenous Film and Media

This event has been combined with the Native American Voices event held in late April 2008 (see below).

Native American Voices
In collaboration with Independent Film Producers of Minnesota
Place: New Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis
612-822-3030

April 24, 2008:
Native American Voices: Narrative Feature Winner from the 7th Annual Fargo International Film Festival
Time:  7- 9:15 p.m.
The Reawakening (Directed by Diane Fraher, New York, 100 min.)

The Reawakening tells the story of a successful Native American attorney, Robert Doctor (Michael Greyeyes), who must choose between his affluent lifestyle in New York City, working for a “white shoe” law firm, and his own self-respect.  While trying to negotiate a huge casino deal that would put his home reservation at great risk, a childhood friend is accused of murder. Tribal elder Wesley Good Voices (Gordon Tootoosis) asks Robert to defend his friend, forcing him to finally choose between his carefully built world of corporate success and the needs and traditional values of his native people.

April 27, 2008:
Native American Voices: Selections from the 7th Annual Fargo International Film Festival
and
New Voices in Native Media: Works by Emerging Native Media Artists

Time: 1 p.m.
Grace (Directed by Darwyn Roanhorse, Oakland, 11 min.)

Pearl, a young runaway, arrives unexpectedly at her aunt’s reservation home.  Indolent and bored, Pearl meets Grace, a poor woman, who sells banana bread at the local government offices.  Pear gets the idea that she can do this too.  What ensues is a life lesson Pearl learns by observing Grace and her inherent goodness -- her grace.

Time: 1:15 p.m.
Red Lake: The Sacred Heart of Our People (Students of Project Reserve, Red Lake, MN, 23 min.)

“This documentary is about our lake’s sacred value from the time of its being to the present day.  We believe that Red Lake is the heart of our people and we have shown this by sharing an informative history that will remind us always of its importance.” -- Students of Project Reserve

Time: 1:45 p.m.
WLCO TV Science Report (Tribal Youth Media Camp, Wisconsin, 20 min.)

The Tribal Youth Media Camp is held at the community college on the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Indian Reservation (Ojibwe) in northern Wisconsin. The Ojibwe students are part of the tribal community within which the Youth Media Camp is held and camp itself is structured around the identities of the students: that of the Ojibwe tribal member and the science student. Every participant in the camp is part of a video production team whose objective is to produce a science related news story that becomes part of a combined multi- media WLCO Science Report. At the camp, the video production process itself becomes a vehicle for story telling and science skill development. Every story focuses on a culturally significant resource and the experts interviewed in the videos are community- based scientists and respected elders.

Time: 2 p.m.
Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart  (Directed by John Ferry, Santa Barbara, CA, 83 min.)

Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart makes extensive use of first-person narration, taken from Sitting Bull’s own words, to present the viewer with an intimate portrait of one of America’s legendary historical figures in all his complexities as a leader of the great Lakota/Dakota Sioux Nation and as a human being.  This is a powerful journey into the life and spirit of a legendary figure of whom people have often heard but don’t really know; a true American and a powerful father of this land…one that Americans must all come to know to reconcile their past and their future.

Time: 4 p.m.
133 Skyway (Directed by Randy Redroad, Ontario, 22 min.) 

133 Skyway is a visceral reflection of urban homelessness, survival and friendship. Derek Miller plays Hartley, a homeless man trying to get his guitar out of hock.  As his health fails, Hartley relies on a troubled friend and the kindness of a lonely pawnshop employee.

Director Randy Redroad will be here to talk about his film.

Time: 4:30 p.m.
I'm Not the Indian You Had in Mind (Directed by Thomas King, Toronto, 5 min.)

Thomas King narrates this spoken word short that offers an insight into how First Nations people today are challenging old ideas and empowering themselves in the greater community.

Time: 4:45 p.m.
A Letter Home (Directed by Ernest Whiteman III, Chicago, 3 min)

A Letter Home "depicts a recent return to the reservation while the movie maker reads a letter from his father to his parents while he is away, re- enforcing that leaving home is generational, but also, the movie maker's mother's adage that no matter how far away you go, you will always return home."