WRRC Co-Sponsors 2014 Native Eyes Film Showcase Events Oct. 24, 26 and Nov. 12

The WRRC is a co-sponsor for the Arizona State Museum's upcoming 2014 Native Eyes Film Showcase, "Honoring the Power of Coming Together," which includes three days of film events on Oct. 24 and 26, and Nov. 12. This year's showcase will include screenings of films by and about Native Americans and indigenous peoples, with the theme of honoring the power of coming together for social change.

Friday, Oct. 24: Meet the Filmmakers!

Free admission. 12 - 1 p.m. Room 100, UA Dept. of Gender and Women's Studies, 925 N. Tyndall.

Join us for a brown-bag lunch discussion about women filmmakers, creating films with Native American stories, and making documentaries. Meet Julianna Brannum (Comanche), director of the film, LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 , and Kristina Kiehl, producer of the film, The Cherokee Word for Water.

Sunday, Oct. 26: Two Film Screenings, Q&A with Filmmakers, Resource Fair & Tribal Panel Discussion

$15 admission ($12 for Loft/ASM/Tribal members/UA students). 1 - 6 p.m. The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway.

1:00-3:00 p.m. The Cherokee Word for Water (2013, 92 minutes, directed by Tim Kelly and Charlie Soap). Set in the early 1980s, this feature is set in a small town in rural Oklahoma where many houses lack running water and others are little more than shacks. The movie is told from the perspective of Wilma Mankiller and full-blood Cherokee organizer Charlie Soap who join forces to battle opposition and build a 16-mile waterline system using a community of volunteers. In the process, they inspire the townspeople to trust each other, to trust their way of thinking, and to spark a reawakening of the universal indigenous values of reciprocity and interconnectedness. This project also inspired a self-help movement in Indian Country that continues to this day. The movie is dedicated to Wilma Mankiller's vision, compassion and incredible grace.

3:30-5:00 p.m. LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 (2013, 58 minutes, directed by Julianna Brannum). This documentary explores the political life and social activism of Comanche activist LaDonna Harris, focusing on the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for all Native peoples in the U.S. and abroad. Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to help educate Congress about American Indian tribes and their unique relationships with the federal government, she taught a course which came to be known on Capitol Hill as “Indian 101” for more than 35 years.

Q&A with filmmakers Julianna Brannum (Comanche) and Kristina Kiehl will follow each of their films.

5:00-6:00 p.m. Panel Discussion. Topics include Native leadership, engaging communities, and working inter-governmentally to bring about positive change. Moderated by Arizona legislator Sally Gonzales (Pascua Yaqui), the panel will include activist LaDonna Harris (Comanche), community development organizer Charlie Soap (Cherokee), and tribal leader Jerry Carlyle (vice chair, San Xavier District, Tohono O’odham Nation).

Wednesday, Nov. 12: "Oil and Water" Film Screening
$10 admission ($8 for Loft/ASM/Tribal members/UA students). 7 p.m. The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway.

Oil and Water (77 min, Francine Strickwerda and Lauren Spellman Smith, directors/producers/writers/camera). This is the true story of two boys coming of age as they each confront one of the world’s worst toxic disasters. Hugo and David were born on opposite ends of the oil pipeline. Hugo comes to the United States to fight for the survival of his Cofán tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon, while David goes to Ecuador to launch the world’s first company to certify oil as “fair trade.” Their journeys lead them to explore what could be a more just future, not just for the Cofán, but for all people around the world born with oil beneath their feet. Learn more about this film at http://www.oilandwaterdocumentary.com.

In-person commentary by Hugo Lucitante, Cofán representative, and David Poritz, environmental activist/co-founder of Equitable Origin; and S. James Anaya, professor of human rights law and policy at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, and former United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

This screening is a fundraiser for the Cofán Survival Fund. Learn more about the fund at www.cofan.org.