Bentonville Film Fest Sets ‘Out of My Mind’ as Opener, Unveils Competition Lineup
“Amber Sealey’s Out of My Mind will open the 10th annual Bentonville Film Festival, which aims to amplify female, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment.
The 10th edition of the festival, which was founded and is chaired by Geena Davis, runs June 10-16 in Bentonville, Arkansas. The lineup of premieres — including narrative, documentary, short film and episodic selections — was announced Tuesday by the Bentonville Film Foundation, founding partner Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor of the event.”
Continue reading at The Hollywood Reporter.
“Amber Sealey’s Out of My Mind will open the 10th annual Bentonville Film Festival, which aims to amplify female, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment.
The 10th edition of the festival, which was founded and is chaired by Geena Davis, runs June 10-16 in Bentonville, Arkansas. The lineup of premieres — including narrative, documentary, short film and episodic selections — was announced Tuesday by the Bentonville Film Foundation, founding partner Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor of the event.”
Continue reading at The Hollywood Reporter.
Interview with Penthea Burns and Esther Anne
Listen to this episode of the “Returning the Land” podcast to hear from two of the women (Esther Anne and Pentha Burns) who had a monumental role in creating the Maine Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission answer one of the most frequently-asked questions we hear from Dawnland viewers: What is happening now with REACH? This episode of the Returning the Land podcast is filled with insights about the impact of their work, the power of protest to make change, how they feel now about centering reconciliation, the truths that Maine’s marketing campaigns conceals, and the ongoing ripples in the pond from Dawnland.
Listen to this episode of the “Returning the Land” podcast to hear from two of the women (Esther Anne and Pentha Burns) who had a monumental role in creating the Maine Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission answer one of the most frequently-asked questions we hear from Dawnland viewers: What is happening now with REACH? This episode of the Returning the Land podcast is filled with insights about the impact of their work, the power of protest to make change, how they feel now about centering reconciliation, the truths that Maine’s marketing campaigns conceals, and the ongoing ripples in the pond from Dawnland.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Yo-Yo Ma on the perils of being disconnected from nature and each other
“Shortly before dawn on a June day in 2021, I stood in the middle of a field in Acadia National Park in Maine. Beside me were my hosts: elders, storytellers, and musicians from the Wabanaki peoples who have lived in this place — which they call Moneskatik — for thousands of years. We were gathered to celebrate a centuries-old tradition of music and story. Roger Paul began by sharing the legend, first in Wabanaki then in English, of Koluskap, the first man, who had placed their Wabanaki ancestors on the eastern edge of the American continent for a purpose: to welcome the sun each morning. We listened to Lauren Stevens sing against a background of the softly breaking waves of the Atlantic. And as the sun rose through the pines, I was invited to take out my cello. I played a Mongolian tune, a piece that tells of the grasslands that my ancestors may have wandered, long before they came to the concrete of Hong Kong and Paris and New York.”
“Shortly before dawn on a June day in 2021, I stood in the middle of a field in Acadia National Park in Maine. Beside me were my hosts: elders, storytellers, and musicians from the Wabanaki peoples who have lived in this place — which they call Moneskatik — for thousands of years. We were gathered to celebrate a centuries-old tradition of music and story. Roger Paul began by sharing the legend, first in Wabanaki then in English, of Koluskap, the first man, who had placed their Wabanaki ancestors on the eastern edge of the American continent for a purpose: to welcome the sun each morning. We listened to Lauren Stevens sing against a background of the softly breaking waves of the Atlantic. And as the sun rose through the pines, I was invited to take out my cello. I played a Mongolian tune, a piece that tells of the grasslands that my ancestors may have wandered, long before they came to the concrete of Hong Kong and Paris and New York.”
Continue reading at The Boston Globe.
Late American Indian activist shines in 'Dawnland,' 'Georgina'
“All of the Conestoga remains were not “returned to their original resting places” in 1979.
The Central Park staff retained the finger bones from an Indian child’s hand and displayed them for the public along with other artifacts uncovered during the excavation.
Georgina Sappier, a Lancaster resident and originally a Passamaquoddy from Maine, said no one should be treated like that. Sappier led an effort that resulted in the ceremonial reburial of the child's hand bones and other bone fragments at the site in 1987.”
“Along Golf Road in Lancaster County Central Park, near the covered bridge to the Kiwanis Park section, a boulder stands atop a high point between the Conestoga River and Mill Creek.
Bolted to the boulder is a bronze plaque, explaining County Park construction workers accidentally uncovered an Indian cemetery in the spring of 1979.
The workers paused while archaeologists excavated the site. They found 12 Conestoga-Susquehannock graves filled with bodies and artifacts dating to the early 18th century. According to the last sentence on the plaque, the remains were “returned to their original resting places.”
Continue reading at LancasterOnline.
Award-winning 'Dawnland' screens May 10
“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.”
“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.
For most of the 20th century, government agents systematically forced Native American children from their homes and placed them with white families. As recently as the 1970s, one in four Native children nationwide were living in non-Native foster care, adoptive homes or boarding schools. Many children experienced devastating emotional and physical harm by adults who tried to erase their cultural identity.”
Read more at The Republican Journal.
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.”
“‘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. According to a 2021 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, roughly 1 in 4 students between ages 12 and 18 who experienced bullying during the 2018-2019 school year were targeted because of their race, national origin, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. In 2021, the FBI reported an 11.6 percent increase in hate crime incidents in the United States compared with the year before.
For tweens and teens actively exploring their identities, the spike in bias incidents is particularly significant. “Hate speech impacts the way you anticipate the world is going to see you and can begin to influence how you see yourself,” said psychologist Ryan DeLapp, director of the REACH (Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Health) Program at the Ross Center in New York City.”
Keep reading at The Washington Post.
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.