Native American Film Festival
All showings are free
Thurs, June 13, 6:30 pm—“The Only Good Indian”
Fri, June 21, 7:00 pm—“We Still Live Here”
Fri, June 28, 7:00 pm—“Standing Silent Nation”
Tues, July 9, 7:00 pm—“In the Light of Reverence”
In preparation for the Congregational Church of West Medford’s upcoming volunteer trip to Pine Ridge reservation in So. Dakota and to continue the journey of discovery, learning and understanding of Native American history, culture, beliefs values and current challenges, a Native American themed film series will be shown at the Congregational Church in West Medford, 400 High Street, in June and July.
The screenings are free. There are 4 films, varying in length, followed by a 30 – 45 discussion of the film. This film series would appeal to those with an interest in learning more about Native American culture, beliefs and current issues. The films are appropriate for mature teens and adults but not for young children. Two of these films, “Standing Silent Nation” and “In the Light of Reverence” are shown in collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV (www.pbs.org/pov). 
On Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. there will be a showing of “The Only Good Indian,” a film by Kevin Willmott that the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Catalog calls “an outstanding revisionist western.” The movie is set in Kansas in the early 1900s and tells the story of an American Indian teen, played by Winter Fox Frank. The young man is taken from his home to one of the training schools that many Native American youth were forced to attend in order to give them an education that would assimilate them into the dominant White culture. After enduring the work-camp atmosphere of the school, the boy escapes from and is pursued by Sam Franklin, a bounty hunter of Cherokee descent played by Wes Studi (“Avatar,” “Dances With Wolves”). The bounty hunter, formerly a U.S. army scout, has re-nounced his Native Heritage and sworn to “out white the White Man.” The plot takes a turn when a tragic incident causes both Franklin and the boy to be pursued by the bounty hunter’s nemesis, Sheriff Henry McCoy (J. Kenneth Campbell), a self-proclaimed Indian killer. Beautifully shot and dramatic, the film gives fresh perspective on the troubled relationship between the Native and Anglo-European cultures. The film is not rated, but includes some violence and is recommended for mature teens or older.
On Friday, June 21st at 7pm, there will be a showing of “We Still Live Here” an award-winning PBS documentary by Anne Makepeace that shows how a Cape Cod Wampanoag woman recreated her people’s long-forgotten spoken language, the first time a language with no living native speakers has been revived in this country. Jesse Little Doe Baird won a MacArthur Genius Grant for the work she did to bring back the language of her ancestors, which had not been spoken for more than a century.
On Friday, June 28th at 7pm, there will be a showing of “Standing Silent Nation” by Suree Towighnia and Courtney Hermann. In April, 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota after other crops had failed. They put their hopes for a sustainable economy in hemp’s hardiness and a booming worldwide demand for its many products from clothing to food. Although growing hemp, a relative a marijuana, was banned in the U.S at the time, Alex believed that tribal sovereignty, along with hemp’s non-psychoactive properties, would protect him. But when federal agents raided the White Plumes’ fields, the Lakota Nation was swept into a Byzantine struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights and common sense. A co-presentation of Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT). This event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV (www.pbs.org/pov).
On Tuesday, July 9th at 7pm, there will be a showing of “In The Light of Reverence” by Christopher McLeod. Devils Tower, The Four Corners, Mount Shasta. All places of extraordinary beauty—and impassioned controversy—as Indians and non-Indians struggle to co-exist with very different ideas about how the land should be used. For Native Americans, the land is sacred and akin to the world’s greatest cathedrals. For others, the land should be used for industry and recreation. This event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series POV (www.pbs.org/pov).
For further information, please contact the church office
or Joy Harris at 617 852 2941