“The culminating event of the Waldo Reads Together program is a showing of the documentary "Dawnland" Wednesday, May 10, at 6 p.m. at Belfast Free Library, 106 High St. There will also be a post-viewing discussion led by WRT facilitators. This program is free and open to the public.”
Parents can help children learn to stand up to hate. Here’s how.
“‘The first time I got called the ‘n-word’ I was standing outside my sixth-grade classroom exchanging a book from the lockers,” says Kimu Elolia. He wasn’t prepared for the weight of the word or how it would leave him feeling paralyzed and isolated for weeks but says he “didn’t have language to explain what I was experiencing.” Elolia, 29, is the creative producer for Sonic Union and now creates podcasts for children designed to foster empathy for the Black experience, which he says will incentivize them to stand up for one another.
Helping our children understand how and why to stand up for one another is becoming more and more important.”
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."
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”