animation

Huichol: El Viaje Místico

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A Facebook friend posted this animation called Huichol: El Viaje Místico made by  Francisco Ortuña Silva on her page. It has some cool graphics and nice, upbeat music (which actually reminded me more of the music in the Scissor Dance in Peru) so I thought I’d share.

The Huichol are a Mexican ethnic group who identify as the Wixaritari or Wizarika amongst themselves (which made me wonder if the creator is non- native or just chose to use the term Huichol since it’s the more broadly recognized term). The animation is about a man’s colorful vision after taking what appears to be peyote. Included in this vision are various natural elements and animals, including a man who looks like a deer, which is closely associated with peyote and a sacred animal for the Wixaritari. It reminded me of an ayahuasca ceremony in Ecuador.

feature film, News

2010 “Emerging Artist” Nominee: Georgina Lightning

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I just read that Georgina Lightning has been nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award in the “Emerging Artists” category by the White House Project. I actually haven’t checked out her award-winning film, “Older than America” because I was watching “Club Native” at the NMAI Film Festival opening night. But, I did get a chance to hear Lightning speak as a panelist. “Older than America” just became available On Demand on the IFC Channel, so check it out if you can. I will, too. In the meantime, here’s a clip from YouTube. Voting for the “Emerging Artitsts” award closes at closes on March 22, 2010 at 11:59pm. For more information on the award and movie, check out:

Shining Elk, Michelle R. ‘Older than America,’ Georgina Lightning receive nom for emerging artist award. Native American Times. March 21, 2010.

feature film, Website

Remastering of 1914 film “In the Land of the Head Hunters”

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I just went through the fall 2009 American Indian Library Association (AILA) Newsletter and, on page 9, saw mention of a project to remaster Edward Curtis’s 1914 film “In the Land of the Head Hunters,” which preceded “Nanook of the North” as the first feature-length film to star all Native North Americans. Rutgers University has a website at http://www.curtisfilm.rutgers.edu/ dedicated to the project, which includes cool audiovisuals as well as discussions about the historical context of the making of the film and how Kwakwaka’wakw consultants and descendants of the cast are working on the restoration project. It is an extraordinary audiovisual artifact made even more so by the way that it helped to maintain and stimulate a culture and how its preservation continues to contribute to the reflection of the past and to fomenting culture.

feature film

Weaving: “Skins” and “Edge of America”

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A few weeks ago, I saw Skins again after a long time and also caught Edge of America. Both are Chris Eyre films. I like his work. His films tend to deal with poignant issues in nuanced ways, incorporating drama and humor, Western and Native culture, and sometimes, just when you think that there’s about to be a cliché, you see the potentially righteously self-righteous one get schooled on why their kettle is black.

Skins is the story of two brothers, played by Graham Greene (Rudy) and Eric Shweig (Mogie), who have taken divergent paths and their journey towards finding harmony, in one case within himself (from the native perspective, his imbalance is symbolized the trickster, personified as it were, by the spider who follows him) but also with each other. Around this story of family bonds, Eyre weaves context: the reality of living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, which includes a large rate of alcoholism. He does so in a subtle way, including news clips but also social commentary by the characters. I always tell folks that for me, a good presentation at a conference is based on humor. If you can make me laugh, you can make me enjoy what you’re telling me and I’ll know you’re going to hit me with some bright stuff. In a similar way, when movies make you laugh even about serious topics, you learn without it being preachy and, like a Facebook friend recently said, “I like the kind of humor that makes you laugh for a minute and think for ten” (or something to that effect; dang Mafia Wars status updates are so friggin’ long I couldn’t re-check the exact quote). Anyway, the Eyre movies I’ve seen always add humor to serious topics and they go down easier and stay with me longer. So, if your class is looking at family, the effects of alcohol on native communities, and native religion/spirituality and politics, I think this movie would be good to check out.

Edge of America would also be good to look at for its treatment of religion/spirituality as well as alternative perspectives and ways of dealing with issues that affect young people. Just as a story is woven above, one character in this film is an actual weaver and teaches the professor, and us, about certain key differences between western and native perspectives. It is also an interesting and funny look at race relations between minorities, in this case between the black English professor who comes to the community and ends up coaching the girls’ basketball team, and the Navajo community who he encounters and who encounters him. This was pretty cool to see because there is usually so much emphasis on white -minority relations and not as much on minority -minority relations. I thought the dialog, the incremental steps at mutual understanding and the humor made it a pretty cool film. So, thumbs up for these two films. I think you may enjoy them.

documentary, Film Festivals, Film Screening, Q&A

Club Native

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Happy New Year folks! Comps. exam done and I’m back.

Only 10 months after I saw it at the 2009 Native American Film Festival at the NMAI in NYC, here is my summary of Club Native. In short: I thought it was a great film and highly recommend it!

Club Native traces the lives of four women and their relationship to their Mohawk identity. In order to obtain membership within their nation, two of the women must go before a council which uses Canada’s law regarding blood quantum as one of the factors in deciding whether they are to remain enrolled members. The transparency and fairness of the council comes into question and we hear the women’s compelling stories – why their bi-raciality does not make them any less Mohawk, except to some.

The other two women are in danger of losing membership not because of their blood quantum but due to their marriage partners – white men. The laws related to Mohawk women “marrying out” are not the same as they are for Mohawk men. Consequently, there is more pressure on women to  marry in or relinquish membership to their community. I remember that the few people who seemed to be in favor of this status quo in the film were Mohawk men and I was curious as to why there was so much emphasis on marrying Mohawk men and not the other way around. That was one aspect of the film that I needed more clarity about.

The director, Tracey Deer, does a great job throughout but these two women’s stories are even more compelling. This may have to do partly with the fact that one of the women is Deer’s sister and we get a very intimate access to her life. And when I say intimate, I mean it: we see the birth of her child! There are many points in the film when I teared up and got goosebumps or laughed – as though these were people I knew. That’s how close you got. So, I think Deer is a really great director just based on that (she doubtless has gotten confirmation of this from all over but it was nice to see one of the men during the Q&A say that she has blossomed into a great filmmaker; Deer identified the man as someone from her community so it was an extra touching moment). But when that girl had her baby on film, I loved her (the sister is very endearing for  her warm and funny ways) more for the honor of being able to see such a private moment. The other woman was an athlete who competed in the Olympics when she was younger and had even been featured on a high profile publication (Newsweek or Time). She was active politically both as a youngster and still is now. All the women were remarkable in their own way. Very poignant documentary – loved it.

For those of you interested, I found a related essay: Simpson, Audra.  “Paths Toward a Mohawk Nation: Narratives of Citizenship and Nationhood in Kahnawake.” In Political Theory and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, edited by Duncan Ivison, Paul Patton and Will Sanders, 113-136. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. It’s pretty academic but it also contains some short narratives about how issues related to blood quantum affects Mohawks.

documentary, Film Festivals, Film Review, Film Screening, Q&A

Mamachas of the Ring

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I caught Mamachas of the Ring / Mamachas del Ring which screened last Friday, November 13 as part of the line up of one of my favorites, the (2009) Margaret Mead Film Festival. It tells the story of several Aymara female wrestlers in Bolivia, focusing on the story of the Campeona, Carmen Rosa. After some initial fame as part of a more organized league of wrestlers under the direction of coach Don Juan Mamani, the group had a falling out and three of them set out to publicize and draw crowds on their own. It was easy for me to be drawn into the story, not only because of the novelty of Aymara women wrestlers, but Carmen Rosa’s spunk, initiative and her passion for the sport – not to mention the tensions.

The documentary touched upon issues of gender and ethnicity but, as usual, I wanted to know more. While you got a sense for how some of the mainstream community felt about their work as wrestlers, I wanted the documentary to delve into whether the large following the women had and the smaller one they were working on attracting were Aymara and how the Aymara community feels abut their life as wrestlers. I also wanted to hear more about about the wrestlers’ children and husbands. Don’t get me wrong; it was great to see an intimate personal portrait — and maybe that’s how I should view more of these films. But, I  always hope for as much of a contextual portrait as possible because it will lend itself to classroom use and discussion on social issues. Maybe that was all the context that was possible; after all, I’m heading toward an oral history project of my own and I foresee the difficulty in delving into people’s lives.

Over all it was a fun movie that shed light on the feelings and lives of these pioneering women. Part of the fun, I should note, was the claymation which gave color to the telling of the stories.

Until next time, which may be January, after I’ve taken my comps., muy … bue … nas … noches, hasta mañana — as the little doggie in the Spanish language commercials of my youth used to say! Take care, folks.

documentary, Film Screening, Q&A

Crude: The Real Price of Oil

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English below.

Español pronto…

Last Wednesday afternoon, after a circuitous ride into Flushing Meadows Park, I eventually made my way to the parking lot of the Queens Museum of Art. (This brought to mind a similarly circuitous excursion over 10 years ago when a colleague and I went to Flushing Meadows Park to have cuy for dinner. Lucky for the ‘immortal cuy’ – about which Cuencanos ponder at length when the mood strikes us – we never did find the vendor.) Since I was an hour early, I was hoping there was a café where I could have dinner before the show. But, it looks like I’m destined to go without food whenever I travel to this park since the lady at the information desk told me that the Museum (and any potential café therein) was closed. My stomach usually waits for no one but it did on Wednesday because, GPS and all, I would have taken too long to find my way out and toward food. After a longer wait than I anticipated – since the movie started ET (no, not Eastern Time; Ecuadorian Time, half past the scheduled hour) – the screening began.

The award-winning film Crude: The Real Price of Oil explores the legal battle being waged against Texaco/Chevron (Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001) for its environmental pollution of the Ecuadorian Amazon and the attendant havoc it is wreaking on Ecuadorian communities, both mestizo and indigenous. Humans and animals are dying as a result of this huge oil spill, which exceeds the Exxon Valdez spill by millions of gallons. Thirty thousand Ecuadorians have brought a claim against Texaco/Chevron. The company, however, claims to have systematically cleaned up the spills before leaving Ecuador in the mid 1990s, when the government-run PetroEcuador took over the operation. The case is still pending; indeed, community’s lawyers note that the company is using a delay tactic in order to bankrupt their case. Detractors say the plaintiffs’ lawyers, which includes an American team funded by a U.S. firm (who is not doing the work pro bono) and an Ecuadorian lawyer named Pablo Fajardo, who was featured in Vanity Fair’s Green Issue and received a CNN Heroes Award, are doing the work for monetary benefit.

Fajardo is an interesting person who I found to be the most passionate and convincing voice in this film. A mother whose child is suffering from cancer was its most heartbreaking. Another interesting personality was the humorous and frank American lawyer Steven Dozinger. His Ecuadorianisms as well as an interesting cultural exchange between him and members of the Ecuadorian team elicited chuckles from the audience. I am glad that Berlinger included his exchange with the Ecuadorian team because I think we often tend to privilege American ways of doing and knowing.

After the screening, the directer, Joe Berlinger; producer, Michael Bonfiglio, and the editor, Alyse Ardell Spiegel, were on hand for questions. Bonfiglio and Carlos Guttierez, co-founder of Cinema Tropical (one of the movie hosts, along with the Queens Museum of Art, the Consulate General of Ecuador and the National Museum of the American Indian), provided English to Spanish translation (the movie screened in Spanish). Berlinger noted that he was motivated to make the film when he saw that, instead of eating fresh fish caught in uncontaminated waters, people in the Ecuadorian Amazon were eating tuna fish out of a can which was packed who knows how many miles away. He felt he could not live his suburban lifestyle knowing that people were living in these conditions and felt a broader indignation about how, in his words, white people have abused Indians over 500 years. This was an interesting statement to hear in this setting since I haven’t always experienced feelings of solidarity on the part of the general Ecuadorian population toward the indigenous population. (I am certain Ecuadorians have felt the effects of the North/South divide but not necessarily as it pertains to Indians.) A few audience members noted that they had never even heard of this situation and were both very appreciative that Berlinger took the time and work to make this film and were interested in ensuring that more people saw it. Berlinger noted that one way to ensure it continues to be seen is for it to have a good run at the IFC Center in New York City where it will be playing, with English subtitles, September 9-22. I thought one audience member was particularly conscientious in noting that the film should also be translated into Chinese since the Chinese are currently buying a lot of petroleum in Ecuador and should be made aware of how their dealings in Ecuador impact the people there.

I am curious to know about the role of the Ecuadorian government. Berlinger noted that the Correa government has been environmentally progressive. Although the government does not have the resources to clean it all, they have cleaned up some of the damage. Moreover, in a fascinating turn, Ecuador has given constitutional rights to flora and fauna! However, I was angered to hear that the Ecuadorian government (not during Correa’s presidency) released Texaco/Chevron of any legal responsibility upon leaving Ecuador in the 1990s. (It should be noted that while the government released them, the Ecuadorians affected did not; that is how they are able to take the company to court.) Texaco/Chevron claims that PetroEcuador has caused several spills after Texaco/Chevron left the country and that they should be held accountable. I do not mean to diminish Texaco/Chevron’s role in this mess; the company should be held accountable for the damage they have caused. I am wondering whether or not the government conducted a thorough investigation to ensure that the transnational actually cleaned up before they signed this release. Did they know the extent of the damage before the community began to feel its effects? Have governments ever been held accountable for any potential neglect in similar cases?

I wish these questions had been addressed in some way (and just so you know, I finally did raise my hand but there were too many people ahead of me with their own questions). I also thought the film would have been more effective if some testimony wasn’t left out. For example, someone asked whether there were ex-company employees who had witnessed the company’s wrongdoing. Berlinger decided, for reasons of length, to use only the views articulated in the trial.

Still, the film, which was filmed on different continents and over years, was very good and definitely very engaging. In addition to timely coverage of a lamentable situation that is ultimately caused by worldwide addiction to oil and therefore touches us all, it used candid moments to focus the lens on various aspects of the case. Although certain personalities definitely stand out in the movie, I just noticed that Berlinger didn’t want to privilege any one voice. From the Amazonian indigenous woman who sings about the population’s plight in the beginning of this documentary through environmental philanthropist Sting singing “I’ll send an S.O.S. to the world” at the end, many voices have their say. Speaking of music, I thought it was cool that Berlinger used music that was representative of Ecuador’s various ethnicities; I heard indigenous music from the sierra as well as the Amazon; Afro-Ecuadorian music and the old standby, Julio Jaramillo.

So, please let someone know about the movie and about the situation. Visit the website and peep the trailer below.

Film Screening, Q&A

“Crude”: éste miercoles, 26 de agosto

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Recibí ésta invitación y quise hacerles llegar. El documental se dará solamente en español y por ende no traduzco al inglés.

EL CONSULADO GENERAL DE ECUADOR EN NUEVA YORK y el MUSEO DE ARTE DE QUEENS en colaboración con el MUSEO NACIONAL DEL INDÍGENA AMERICANO y CINEMA TROPICALtienen el agrado de invitarlo a una función especialde pre-estreno de la película

Crude: The Real Price of Oil

Dirigida por Joe Berlinger, Ecuador/USA, 2009, 105 min.

En inglés, español, a’ ingae y secoya con subtítulos en español.

LA ÉPICA HISTORIA DEL INFAME CASO TEXACO, UNO DE LOS

CASOS JURÍDICOS MÁS GRANDES Y MÁS CONTROVERTIDOS DEL MUNDO.

Encabezados por el abogado Pablo Fajardo, quien se ha convertido ya en todo un héroe popular en el Ecuador, el caso legal ha puesto a 30 mil indígenas en contra del gigante petrolero estadounidense.

MIÉRCOLES, 26 DE AGOSTO, 7PM

MUSEO DE ARTE DE QUEENS

NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

¡Con la presencia de invitados especiales!

Entrada libre. Reserve a gabriel@queensmuseum.org

ó al teléfono (718) 592-9700 ext. 140

www.crudethemovie.com

documentary, Film Review

Sueños binacionales / Bi-National Dreams

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Español abajo.

Sueños binacionales / Bi-national Dreams, directed by Yolanda Cruz, deals with the experience of two Mexican indigenous groups in the United States. The first part of the documentary focuses on the Mixtec.  One of the largest indigenous groups in Mexico, the Mixtec and have been traveling to the Fresno area for over 30 years. Two charismatic community leaders discuss how the Mixtec have rallied around social issues and how their effective communication and organization has helped them reach out to immigrants from various Mixtec towns who have settled in the Fresno area. Community members who are featured show a strong commitment to maintaining ties to their communities in Mexico, endeavoring, it seems, to live the film title’s bi-national dream.

The second part of the documentary is less upbeat and perhaps that is why it is more gripping. It focuses on the Chatino, one of the smallest indigenous groups in Mexico. Chatino immigration to North Carolina is more recent, having occurred largely in the past 10 years.

While the Mixtec portion of the video was in Spanish, large parts of the second version is spoken in Chatino which I liked because you do not always get to hear native languages spoken. Although westerners tend to focus on the practicality of acquiring or knowing a language, there is something to the idea that a language’s sound transmits not only communication but also energy. I am reminded of the Mapuche speaker on the indigenous panel in March who began his talk by playing a music instrument and saying how it was important to allow the audience to feel that vibration. An Otavalo friend (noticing that I would use my elementary Kichwa) once commented on the importance of hearing a language’s sounds.

The Chatino story was not as sanguine as the Mixtec one. About half the population of the town (I rewound the tape but don’t remember seeing it noted in the film) where the Chatino were concentrated had migrated, giving the impression that those migrants will not return, at least not on a permanent basis. One hotel worker in North Carolina says as much. Another community member in Mexico, who speaks Chatino with pride, noted that not everyone is carrying on the Chatino language. Also, one of the community members in Mexico notes how the money earned while Chatinos travel to the United States could be better spent. Although his tone is pretty somber (since no one seems to be taking him up on the idea), he offers a very good plan of action for how the community could become more self sufficient. I wonder if the video circulated among community members and anyone listened?

I thought this film was great the first time I saw it. I still think it is a great example of the heterogeneity of Latino immigration to the United States and of indigenous groups even within a single nation. It could be used for classes on immigration, identity and community organization.

My only small gripe is that I wish the video had more background information on the indigenous groups both in Mexico and those who traveled to the United States. My second viewing of the video was related to an exhibit I am working on about the changing patterns of Latin American and Caribbean immigration to the United States. I am specifically writing a section on Latin American indigenous immigrants. It would be nice to have had more figures or statistics on the communities. It would have also been interesting to see the dynamics between Chatino, Mixtec and mestizo Mexican immigrants and even between them and Americans. That would probably have been another film but I mention it because I am curious about those dyanmics as well. But this aside, it’s a very interesting film and I look forward to seeing Cruz’s other films. For more information on her work, including acquiring a copy of  Sueños binacionales / Bi-natinoal Dreams, visit Petate Productions.

Sueños binacionales / Bi-national Dreams, un video por la videoasta Yolanda Cruz, se enfoca en las experiencias de dos grupos indígenas mexicanos que han inmigrado a los EEUU. La primera parte del documental se enfoca en la comunidad mixteca. Son uno de los grupos indígenas mas grandes de Mexico y han inmigrado a la region de California conocida como Fresno por mas de 30 años. Dos miembros de la comunicad hablan acerca de cómo la comunidad mixteca se ha organizado al rededor de temas sociales y cómo sus redes de comunicación intercomunitarias les ha permitido comunicar con miembros de otros pueblos mixtecas en la área de Fresno y en Mexico. Los líderes que son entrevistados demuestran un fuerto compromiso con sus comunidades en los EEUU y en Mexico y parece que están logrando el sueño binacional del título del video.

La seguna parte del documental no es tan optímista pero tal vez por ese motivo, fue hasta mas interesante para mi. Se trata de la comunidad chatino, uno de los grupos indígenas mas pequeños de Mexico. Empezaron a inmigrar al estado estadounidense de North Carolina en los últimos diez años.

Aunque esta parte del documental esta en español, una gran parte de esta sección está en el idioma chatino. Me gusto este detallo porque no siempre se tiene la oportunidad de oir idiomas indígenas ya que se privilegia el español o inglés (me doy cuenta de la ironía ya que está sección en español esta debajo de la sección en inglés. En mi caso no es por etnocentricidad ? norteamericana sino porque hablo mejor en inglés que español). Aunque la gente blanca o mestiza suele enfatizar el aspecto práctico de la adquisición de un idioma, creo que es verdad que  el sónido de un idioma trasnmite energía. Me acuerdo del señor mapuche que hablo durante el panel en marzo que empezó su charla tocando un instrumento diciendo que es importante que el público oiga esa vibración. Un amigo otavalo (notando que a veces utilizo el kichwa básico que conozco) una vez hizo el comentario que los sónidos y tal vez las vibraciones del idioma son importantes oir tambien.

La parte chatino no fue tan optimista como la seccion mixteca. Mitad del pueblo chatino (retrocedí el DVD pero no pude encontrar el nombre del pueblo) han inmigrado a los EEUU. Esto da la impresión que los inmigrantes no van a regresar a Mexico, al menos no permanentemente. Una trabajadora de hotel dice que le sería difícil regresar a México. Otro miembro de la comunidad que vive en México que conversa orgullosamente en chatino hace el comentario que no todos están manteniendo el idioma chatino.

No he traducido la siguente parte todavía…

Also, one of the community members in Mexico notes how the money earned while Chatinos travel to the United States could be better spent. Although his tone is pretty somber (since no one seems to be taking him up on the idea), he offers a very good plan of action for how the community could become more self sufficient. I wonder if the video circulated among community members and anyone listened?

I thought this film was great the first time I saw it. I still think it is a great example of the heterogeneity of Latino immigration to the United States and of indigenous groups even within a single nation. It could be used for classes on immigration, identity and community organization.

My only small gripe is that I wish the video had more background information on the indigenous groups both in Mexico and those who traveled to the United States. My second viewing of the video was related to an exhibit I am working on about the changing patterns of Latin American and Caribbean immigration to the United States. I am specifically writing a section on Latin American indigenous immigrants. It would be nice to have had more figures or statistics on the communities. It would have also been interesting to see the dynamics between Chatino, Mixtec and mestizo Mexican immigrants and even between them and Americans. That would probably have been another film but I mention it because I am curious about those dyanmics as well. But this aside, it’s a very interesting film and I look forward to seeing Cruz’s other films. For more information on her work, including acquiring a copy of  Sueños binacionales / Bi-natinoal Dreams, visit Petate Productions.