Presented by the Department of Anthropology in association with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Film + Video Center.  Sponsored by the A.T. Hansen Anthropology Lecture Fund with support from the Center for American and World Cultures, Department of Communication, Department of Geography, Department of History, Film Studies Program, Latin American Studies Program, Journalism Program, Women’s Studies Program, Myaamia Project, and Office of Diversity Affairs.

 

Hot food reception to follow

By the Rapids (2005, 4 min.) Dir: Joseph Lazare (Mohawk). A comic animation in which a Mohawk city boy is shown the ropes on the reservation of Kahnawake.

High Steel (1965; 13 min.) Dir: Don Owen. A dizzying view of the Mohawk Indians of Kahnawake who worked in Manhattan erecting the steel frames of skyscrapers.

Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back (2008; 57 min.) Director Reaghan Tarbell (Mohawk) explores her roots and traces the connections of her family from the Kahnawake Reserve outside Montreal to the 10-square block area in Brooklyn known as Little Caughnawaga. There, while the Mohawk ironworkers were building Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers, the women sustained a vibrant community far from home.

Q&A / Discussion with filmmaker Reaghan Tarbell and Dr. Roxanne Ornelas, Department of Geography and Women’s Studies Program.

 

The Return of Navajo Boy (2000; 57 min.) Set in the stunning landscape of Utah's Monument Valley, this unforgettable, universally acclaimed documentary chronicles the extraordinary saga of how a rediscovered 1950s silent film reel leads to the return of a long-lost brother to his Navajo family, highlighting the human costs of uranium mining in the US Southwest.

Q&A / Discussion with filmmakers Jeff Spitz and Bennie Klain, film participant Elsie Mae Begay, and Dr. Daniel Cobb, Department of History.

 

SHORTS PROGRAM: REEL INDIANS LIVING THE LANGUAGE

Writing the Land (2007, 8 min.) Dir: Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) Hunkamenum language and cultural traditions are rediscovered in the cityscape of Vancouver.

Sikumi (2008; 15 min.) Dir: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Inupiaq) In Inupiaq with English subtitles. An Inuit hunter drives his dog team out on the frozen Arctic Ocean and becomes a witness to murder.

From Cherry English (2004, 10 min.)  Dir: Jeff Barnaby (Mik'maq) A visually startling allegory about the loss of language and identity.

Share the Wealth (2006; 8 min.) Director: Bennie Klain (Navajo) A Native woman on an urban street encounters stereotyped misunderstanding in this poignant drama and ironic parable.

Horse You See (2007, 8 min.) Dir: Melissa Henry (Navajo)  In Navajo with English subtitles. Ross, a Navajo horse, explains the very essence of being himself.

Goodnight Irene (2004, 14 min.) Dir: Sterlin Harjo (Creek/Seminole) Two young men have a life-changing encounter with an elder in the waiting room of an Indian Health Service clinic.

Shimasani (2009, 15 min.) Dir: Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo) In Navajo with English subtitles. Mary Jane decides whether to retain her traditional lifestyle or seek a new life "just over the mountain."

Q&A / Discussion with filmmaker Bennie Klain, Smithsonian NMAI Film + Video Curator Reaghan Tarbell, and George Ironstrack, Assistant Director of the Myaamia Project.