Indigenous Storytelling Honored by The Webby Awards
“Two Indigenous-made storytelling projects supported by Nia Tero have been honored by the 2023 Webby Awards. Seedcast, a podcast about Indigenous experiences of relationship to the Earth, is nominated for Best Podcast Episode in the area of Arts & Culture. Reciprocity Project, a global storytelling movement supporting Indigenous creatives, is an honoree in the category of "Websites and Mobile Sites - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion."
“Two Indigenous-made storytelling projects supported by Nia Tero have been honored by the 2023 Webby Awards. Seedcast, a podcast about Indigenous experiences of relationship to the Earth, is nominated for Best Podcast Episode in the area of Arts & Culture. Reciprocity Project, a global storytelling movement supporting Indigenous creatives, is an honoree in the category of "Websites and Mobile Sites - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion."
"Indigenous stories are essential for being in better relationship with the planet," said Tracy Rector, Managing Director, Storytelling at Nia Tero. "In order to bring more of these important narratives into the world, along with invaluable long-held knowledge and practices from their communities, it is our responsibility to provide support and resources for learning, creating, and building together."
Continue reading at PR Newswire.
In Memoriam
Upstander Project’s team sends love and condolences to the families and loved ones of upstanders who have passed in recent weeks: Former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, architect of the Indian Child Welfare Act, appears in the opening scene of Dawnland, in no small part due to his generosity and recollections, which helped us uncover the archival footage featured in the movie. Margot Stern Strom, co-founder of Massachusetts-based Facing History and Ourselves, teacher, and visionary, built an organization that continues to have profound global impact. We are grateful to have met Margot and to collaborate with her colleagues. Former Massachusetts state representative Mel King, public intellectual and activist, was the first Black man to earn a spot in the general election for Boston mayor and is credited with helping to usher in a new era in Boston race relations. As we say in our Jewish tradition, may the memories of these extraordinary humans be a blessing to all they touched and may their spirits rise higher and higher.
Upstander Project’s team sends love and condolences to the families and loved ones of upstanders who have passed in recent weeks: Former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, architect of the Indian Child Welfare Act, appears in the opening scene of Dawnland, in no small part due to his generosity and recollections, which helped us uncover the archival footage featured in the movie. Margot Stern Strom, co-founder of Massachusetts-based Facing History and Ourselves, teacher, and visionary, built an organization that continues to have profound global impact. We are grateful to have met Margot and to collaborate with her colleagues. Former Massachusetts state representative Mel King, public intellectual and activist, was the first Black man to earn a spot in the general election for Boston mayor and is credited with helping to usher in a new era in Boston race relations. As we say in our Jewish tradition, may the memories of these extraordinary humans be a blessing to all they touched and may their spirits rise higher and higher.
Film ‘Dawnland’ recounts ‘history that isn’t usually taught’
“When someone hears the phrase “truth and reconciliation commission,” South Africa usually comes to mind. But the Emmy-winning 2018 film “Dawnland,” which will be shown for the public next Thursday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Bromfield School’s Cronin Auditorium, brings the idea much closer to home.”
“When someone hears the phrase “truth and reconciliation commission,” South Africa usually comes to mind. But the Emmy-winning 2018 film “Dawnland,” which will be shown for the public next Thursday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Bromfield School’s Cronin Auditorium, brings the idea much closer to home.
“Dawnland” tells the story of the first truth and reconciliation commission to be established in the United States. Set up by Maine in 2012, its mission was to gather information on the state welfare agency’s practice of removing Native American children from their parents and placing them in foster care or adoption with white families—a practice that continues to this day. The federal government began to encourage adoption and foster care for Native American children in 1958, as a replacement for the earlier policy of sending the children to boarding schools.”
Continue reading at The Harvard Press.
The New Maine Classics
“Nothing but love for Kenneth Roberts, Edna St. Vincent Millay, E. B. White, and other old-school heavyweights, but the last 25 years have also given us a bumper crop of motley, memorable Maine storytelling — and not all of it on the page. We sifted through the last quarter-century of Maine media and plucked 25 gems — a sundry set of books, films, digital projects, and more — that’ll hold up in another 25 years.”
“Nothing but love for Kenneth Roberts, Edna St. Vincent Millay, E. B. White, and other old-school heavyweights, but the last 25 years have also given us a bumper crop of motley, memorable Maine storytelling — and not all of it on the page. We sifted through the last quarter-century of Maine media and plucked 25 gems — a sundry set of books, films, digital projects, and more — that’ll hold up in another 25 years.”
Continue reading at Downeast.com
In "Reciprocity Project," Indigenous voices reframe our relationship to the Earth
“In one episode of the docu-series Reciprocity Project, Connecticut-based educator and member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Chris Newell teaches acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma a pow-wow song. Together, they play at sunrise, "singing up the sun" in the tradition of the Wabanaki or People of the Dawnland, a confederation of four tribes in Maine including Passamaquoddy.”
“In one episode of the docu-series Reciprocity Project, Connecticut-based educator and member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Chris Newell teaches acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma a pow-wow song. Together, they play at sunrise, "singing up the sun" in the tradition of the Wabanaki or People of the Dawnland, a confederation of four tribes in Maine including Passamaquoddy.
This hour, we hear about this film series from Newell and executive producer Tracy Rector, and about the increasing urgency of centering Indigenous perspectives on our planet and the climate. The series is intended to inspire conversation and action on climate; "to create a paradigm shift that reframes our relationships to the Earth, other living beings, and one another."‘
Listen at Connecticut Public Radio.
The best films of 2022, according to our critics
“Special mentions to Dale Dickey in “A Love Song.” Season one of the Boston-produced Reciprocity Project, particularly “Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn).” Donkeys. They deserve better. And a shout out to Providence documentary producer-director Sara Archambault (“Riotsville, U.S.A.," “No Time to Fail,” “A Decent Home”), and Boston documentary director-festival founder Sabrina Aviles (“Raising the Floor,” CineFest Latino Boston) for knocking 2022 out of the park.”
“2022 was the year Tom Cruise saved the movies. Hollywood inexplicably continued to shoot itself in the foot, skimping on theatrical runs for sure-fire sequels such as “Prey,” “Disenchanted” and “Glass Onion” while chasing an unsustainable streaming business model by rushing everything to your living room, sometimes only days after opening. Meanwhile, movie theater aficionado Cruise used his considerable clout to keep his exorbitantly entertaining “Top Gun: Maverick” a big-screen only proposition all summer. The result was an event movie that actually felt like an event, making history by topping the box office both Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends while providing a lifeline to exhibitors wobbling on the post-pandemic ropes. I saw a lot of terrific films in 2022…”
Continue reading at WBUR.
A new short documentary gives voice to Maine’s Wabanaki people
“This was the first step of many, and the right direction for healing.” Listen to an interview with filmmakers Lauren Stevens and Chris Newell.
“This was the first step of many, and the right direction for healing.”
Listen at News Center Maine.
Why We Should Listen to Indigenous Voices About the Climate Crisis
“According to the United Nations, areas managed by indigenous peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet.
The Reciprocity Project is a series of 7 Indigenous-made films exploring the concept of reciprocity in Indigenous cultures, or “the way of life that centers mutual exchange and sharing amongst all beings, past, present and future, seen and unseen, and the Earth.” And through these films and Indigenous perspectives, the project aims to spark conversation and action on the climate crisis.”
“According to the United Nations, areas managed by indigenous peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet.
The Reciprocity Project is a series of 7 Indigenous-made films exploring the concept of reciprocity in Indigenous cultures, or “the way of life that centers mutual exchange and sharing amongst all beings, past, present and future, seen and unseen, and the Earth.” And through these films and Indigenous perspectives, the project aims to spark conversation and action on the climate crisis.
We speak with Kavita Pillay, a producer of the Reciprocity Project, and Brit Hensel, director of "ᎤᏕᏲᏅ," which is nominated for Best Short Documentary for the IDA Documentary Award.”
Listen at The Takeaway from WNYC Studios.