[Short film] ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught)

"Filmed on the #QuallaBoundary and #CherokeeNation, ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) - pronounced "oo-day-yoh-nuh" - explores expressions of reciprocity within Cherokee communities, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker. ᎤᏕᏲᏅ is a reflection on tradition, language, land, and a commitment to maintaining balance. This film was created in collaboration with independent artists from both #CherokeeNation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

"Today’s Cherokees are organized into three federally-recognized tribes: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. As with most of the films in this series, language is conveyed as an integral part of how Indigenous peoples interact with the land through culture and their distinct worldviews to enact reciprocity. Tom Belt demonstrates how embedded in the Cherokee language are worldviews for which concepts often do not have easy translations into English. For instance, the fact that there is no word for art, and that the idea of creating something with its source in the natural world means that the artist is not creating something new, but simply remaking that material into something else. “Art” is thus both a medium for creative cultural expression and that which connects humans to the natural world through the transformation of natural materials into what we call art.

"Tom also shares another key perspective, that the world does not belong to humans. He tells us the ownership of the world belongs to those who came before humans, making humans merely guests who have 'to be as careful and responsible as we can be.'

"This film further exposes how gratitude and gifting are intertwined as necessary ingredients of reciprocity. Did you notice in the beginning of the film the offering of tobacco as the tree was taken so the masks could be made? In American Indian cultures the offering of tobacco is an almost universal element of thanksgiving. Other things could be given as an offering as well. By assuming responsibility and respect for what is being taken, the offering constitutes an act of reciprocity and gratitude."

Watch:
https://www.reciprocity.org/films/udeyonv

#DCEFF #IndigenousStorytellers #IndigenousFilms #ReciprocityProject #Reciprocity #IndigenousFilmMakers #IndigenousWisdom #HonorTheEarth #EasternBandOfCherokeeIndians #UnitedKeetoowah #Reciprocity #Gratitude

@crankyclown I noticed that Krystal Two Bulls was the new director.

"#KrystalTwoBulls, who was hired as co-executive director of #HonorTheEarth in December, will now be the sole director. LaDuke said prior to the trial she had been working on a transition plan.

"LaDuke cofounded Honor the Earth 30 years ago with musicians Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the #IndigoGirls. She was also a two time Green Party vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader."

Biography: Winona LaDuke

"#WinonaLaDuke, a #NativeAmerican #activist, economist, and author, has devoted her life to advocating for #Indigenous control of their homelands, natural resources, and cultural practices. She combines economic and #environmental approaches in her efforts to create a thriving and sustainable community for her own White Earth reservation and Indigenous populations across the country.

"Winona LaDuke was born in Los Angeles, California on August 18, 1959 to parents Vincent and Betty (Bernstein) LaDuke. Her father, also known as #SunBear, was #Anishinaabe (or #Ojibwe) from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. He was an actor, writer, and activist. Her mother was an artist and activist. LaDuke is an #Anishinaabekwe (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band #Anishinaabeg. Her father brought her to powwows and other tribal functions, events that made a deep impression on the young LaDuke. LaDuke’s parents divorced when she was five and she moved with her mother, who was of Russian Jewish descent, to Ashland, Oregon. LaDuke visited #WhiteEarth frequently and, at her mother’s encouragement, spent summers living in Native communities in order to strengthen her connection with her heritage.

"LaDuke attended Harvard University and graduated in 1982 with a degree in rural economic development. While at Harvard, LaDuke’s interest in Native issues grew. She spent a summer working on a campaign to stop uranium mining on Navajo land in Nevada, and testified before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland about the exploitation of Indian lands.

"After Harvard, LaDuke took a position as principal of the reservation high school at the White Earth Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota. She soon became involved in a lawsuit filed by the Anishinaabeg people to recover lands promised to them by an 1867 federal treaty. At the time of the treaty, the White Earth Reservation included 837,000 acres, but government policies allowed lumber companies and other non-Native groups to take over more than 90 percent of the land by 1934. After four years of litigation, however, the lawsuit was dismissed.

"The lawsuit’s failure motivated LaDuke’s ensuing efforts to protect Native lands. In 1985, she helped establish and co-chaired the #IndigenousWomensNetwork (#IWN), a coalition of 400 Native women activists and groups dedicated to bolstering the visibility of Native women and empowering them to take active roles in tribal politics and culture. The coalition strives both to preserve Indigenous religious and cultural practices and to recover Indigenous lands and conserve their natural resources."

Read more:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/winona-laduke

#GreenParty #LandBack #HonorTheEarth