Listening for the Rain: Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change
Created by media artists Jeffrey Palmer (Kiowa) and Filoteo Gómez Martínez (Ayuuk), and emerging out of an interdisciplinary research project, this thought-provoking film documents stories and observations about climate change from different Indigenous communities in the central United States. Through the stories they tell, we learn how diverse tribal landscapes have been effected by environmental change and how Indian Country is working on this important issue.
Our screening will also include a discussion with the two filmmakers, Jeff and Filoteo, and Sonia Davila Poblete (Bolivian) whose work with Indigenous communities there around water and environmental issues will add a North-South connection to our pluricultural conversations.
About the Presenters
| Filoteo Gómez Martínez is an Ayuuk (Mixe) filmmaker from the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, Mexico who now resides in Norman, Oklahoma and studies geography at the University of Oklahoma. Filo learned to make videos through workshops organized by state and international agencies, academic entities, and activist organizations. His first video “Dulce Convivencia/Sweet Gathering” was well received, won several international awards, and can be viewed online via IsumaTV. More recently, Filo has been working on videos about Indigenous and other migrant communities in Milwaukee and in Oklahoma City. He has also been collaborating with Jeffrey Palmer a Kiowa filmmaker and researchers at the University of Oklahoma to document the impacts of climate change in Indian Country. |
Jeffrey Palmer is an Indigenous (Kiowa) filmmaker and media artist. He received his M.F.A. in Film and Video Production from the University of Iowa and  his M.A. in Native American Studies from University of Oklahoma. He currently is an assistant professor of Mass Communication at the University of Central Oklahoma. He was selected in the spring of 2012 to participate in the Sundance Institute Native Laboratory to work on his feature documentary entitled “Honor Beats.” His other works include “Origins” (2013), which premiered internationally in 2014 and is currently being reviewed by the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. |
| Sonia Davila-Poblete Ph.D., is a sociologist specializing in integrated water management, river basin and environmental policies. As Emeritus Member of the Technical Advisor Committee of the Global Water Partnership (GWP), independent consultant and advisor, she works with grassroots groups, governments, and international organizations on social issues that have to deal with environmental problems, mainly in Mexico and Bolivia. Her primary interests include: foregrounding the Andean culture’s “Living Well” paradigm into the search of solutions for environmental and climate change issues, advocating for nature in development projects, and mainstreaming a gender perspective in all public policies. |
Location and Time
Augsburg College
Sateren Auditorium, Music Hall, 715 22nd Ave South
Reception 6:00-6:30
Screening begins at 6:45
Discussion with filmmakers follows
Thank you to our sponsors:
Augsburg College
American Indian, First Nations, and Indigenous Studies Department
Environmental Studies Program
Department of Social Work
Institute for Global Studies, University of Minnesota
Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy
Future First