Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Paradigm of Earth: Indigenous Resistance and Truth

Presented in conjunction with the Indigenous Human Rights Film Festival group’s week-long special events schedule surrounding the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues May 17 – 24, 2009.

Presenters: Steven Newcomb and Charmin White Face

“This life code that no scientist has ever managed to unveil rests with the Indians. You don’t have to look any further. Are you prepared for that? Is the contemporary world prepared for what we want to convey after 500 years of silence?”

Charmaine White Face, Zumila Wobaga, is an Oglala Tetuwan (Lakota language speaker) from the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) in North America. She is known for her work in support of Native American rights, in particular as coordinator of the Defenders of the Black Hills volunteer organization centered around efforts to encourage the United States government to honor the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868. She also works at the international level in support of recognition of human rights of indigenous peoples all over the world. She is the spokesperson for the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council. She was a participant in the prayer fast/hunger strike held in December 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland at the final meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (WGDD). She is also a writer and a grandmother.

Steven Newcomb is Indigenous Law Research Coordinator at Kumeyaay Community College, co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and a columnist for Indian Country Today.

Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Screening: “Kanohi Kitea” (48 minutes, Aotearoa- New Zealand) and meet Joe Harawira, Maori Nation

“Kanohi Kitea” is a unique and poignant story of Hohepa (Joe) Harawira, a descendant of Mataatua and Te Arawa as he receives a full moko to the face. Joe Harawira is a storyteller and tikanga (protocols) expert from the Waikato region of the North Island.

Joe Harawira Tribal Affiliation: Ngati Maniapoto, Ngai te Rangi, Ngati Awa Joe was born and bred in Whakatane, in the North Island of New Zealand. He is a storyteller, and an expert in tikanga (protocols) and is a passionate teacher and performer of kapahaka (perfoming arts). He has toured many times internationally, taking his skill in Maori storytelling and oratory with him to indigenous and storytelling festivals. Storytelling runs in Joe’s extended family. “We come from a very oral tradition. As a small boy I’d go to the marae where the kaumatua (elders), who were all storytellers, would do their whaikorero (speech-making).” Previously working as a school teacher, Joe now works as Kaupapa Atawhai Manager in the Waikato Conservancy of the Department of Conservation. Joe is an exponent of the Maori language and a strong supporter of all Maori art forms.

Also, listen live to WBAI 99.5 FM (http://stream.wbai.org/) with JOE HARAWIRA radio interview, Thursday 10:00 A.M. with Tiokasin Ghosthorse producer of First Voices Indigenous Radio. http://www.firstvoicesindigenousradio.org

Ngatahi: Know the Links, V A special screening of the Palestine and Ireland music videos + discussion with filmmaker Te Kupu @ Bluestockings April 22.

Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Today’s Indigenous Struggles in Alaska*

A three-part event will take a close look at three current Indigenous struggles happening today in Alaska. Our suggested $5 donation will benefit our continued work with Indigenous Voices.

History of the Iñupiat 1961, The Duck-in (30 minutes) by Rachel Edwardson

History of the Iñupiat:The Duck-In is about US government attempts to regulate traditional hunting rights of the Iñupiat in 1961. This is the story of the first major conflict between the Federal government and the Iñupiat people and marked the beginning of the battle for land rights in northern Alaska. The US fish and wildlife dept arresting subsistence hunters in Barrow for hunting out of duck season (when the duck season was set to the only time the ducks weren’t preset in Alaska and when the majority of families survived by subsistence hunting.)

For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska (60 minutes) by Jeff Silverman

Next, we will screen a special Sneak Preview of For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska from Blueberry Productions, an inspiring story about Alaskan natives who, through non-violence social change, overcame prejudice, disadvantage and blatant bigotry to win justice for all Alaskans – a story that resonates for Natives facing challenges.
Watch the Trailer: http://www.alaskacivilrights.org/trailersandpromos.html

Meet the Author: Willie L. Iggiagruk Hensley

Publisher’s Weekly said, Through his entire adult life, Hensley’s mission has been simple: to ensure the Inupiat are allowed to keep their rights and their land. There are rich details of hunting adventures and typical childhood struggles, but the deep-rooted values and strength of the Inupiat people are what make this work truly sing.

Our night will be honored by the presence of and discussion led by Inupiat elder, activist, and author Willie L. Iggiagruk Hensley. His book Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People will be our topic.

“Alaska is my identity, my home, and my cause. I was there, after all, before Gore-Tex replaced muskrat and wolf skin in parkas, before moon boots replaced mukluks, before the gas drill replaced the age-old tuuq we used to dig through five feet of ice to fish. I was there before the snow machine, back when the huskies howled their eagerness to pull the sled. I was there before the outboard motor showed up, when the qayaq and umiaq glided silently across the water, and I was there when the candle and the Coleman lamp provided all the light we needed.” — from Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People

The book will be sold at Bluestockings: http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Miles-Tomorrow-Memoir-Alaska/dp/0374154848

• Noho Hewa, as advertised on the Bluestockings website and in the Indypendent, will screen next month, April 30, 2009.