2019-2020 SeasoN
Welcome to the Augsburg Native American Film Series! This year we will focus our screenings on Indigenous/Native American resilience, activism, and critical issues. We promise a season full of variety and charged with energy. Join us for film events as they unfold over the course of the Fall and Spring. We will update the site throughout the season with details and specific pages for each event. Keep coming back and follow us on Facebook:
October 5, 2019 Warrior Women (Christina King & Elizabeth Castle, 2018)
Warrior Women looks at the history of Indigenous activism as lived and led by AIM activist Madonna Thunder Hawk and her daughter Marcy. The film traces Madonna’s work for cultural sovereignty in education as she helped create the “We Will Remember” Survival School and the shared work she and her daughter have continued around environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty.
November 12 Crying Earth Rise Up (Suree Towfighnia, Director / Producer / Camera, 2015)
Crying Earth Rise Up tells the story of Debra White Plume and Elisha Yellow Thunder’s efforts to stop the uranium mining contaminating their community’s drinking water. Informed by Native perspectives and belief systems, the film addresses the sacred relationship between water and life itself, as well as the conflicts between nuclear power companies, activists, and locals. With a nuanced look at what is becoming an increasingly common environmental battle, the film offers a case study of contemporary conservation efforts in the face of corporate and capitalistic interests (Documentary Educational Resources).
February 19 Blood Memory (Drew Nichols, 2019)
Blood Memory, a true life “dark-horse political thriller”, tells Sandy White Hawk’s story of adoption out of her home community at a young age and her work to help the “stolen generation” of the American Indian Adoption Era return home. Intertwined with her saga is that of Mark Fiddler, an ICWA lawyer whose advocacy as co-council in Adoptive Couple vs. Baby Girl 2013 helped to dismantle the law he once fought to protect (Vision Maker Media). Join Sandy White Hawk for an evening of screening the film and discussion.
This event Is cancelled due to the COVID-19 Virus. In order to ensure the safety of all our guests, the Native American Film Series will be canceling the April 1 event. We hope to bring it back in the Fall so please check next season. Thank you for your support and stay safe.
April 1 Protecting Indigenous and Sacred Land through Media: Bears Ears and Other Current Struggles (Angelo Baca)
Shásh Jaa’ (Bears Ears) encompasses 1.9 million acres of southeastern Utah wilderness and is considered sacred lands to local Native American tribes. This documentary follows Angelo Baca and his grandmother, the director, and the developing Coalition’s efforts on the way to convince the Obama administration to make this area a designated National Monument with a collaborative management plan working in partnership with these tribes. Join Angelo Baca for the film and a discussion of current Indigenous land struggles concerning land, water, and natural resources.