A solar eclipse will darken the sky just hours
before Tribal Justice lights up
screens across the country
On August 21st, Americans will witness a rare and awe inspiring heavenly show — a total eclipse of the sun. It will all be over in the afternoon, but for me that evening brings an equally exciting event…
Four years in the making, Tribal Justice will at last reach a national television audience. Watch it on PBS, or stream it free for a limited time during and after the broadcast by going to www.pbs.org/pov/tribaljustice
Tribal Justice is an eloquent song, a song of resiliency and hope. It is a song that needs to be sung in every state court justice system. In this film, Tribal Judges Abinanti and White show us how. We owe them deep gratitude for sharing this gift.
— Timothy Connors. Presiding Judge, Washtenaw County Peacemaking Court
Please help spread the word about the PBS broadcast! Forward this newsletter to friends and family, ‘Like' us on
Facebook and tweet like mad with hashtag
#TribalJusticePBS — and be sure to check local listings.
On the Road with Tribal Justice
Since our last newsletter, I have been traveling around the country screening Tribal Justice for audiences large and small. Here are a few highlights:
Stanford Old and New
I was so excited to be back at Stanford to screen Tribal Justice at the Law School that I forgot to take any pictures! It was great to see old friends from my undergraduate and film school days, and to meet young law students, many of them members of the Native American Law Student Association.
California Dreaming
Driving up to Mendocino on Highway One was beyond beautiful. Ocean! Wildflowers! Salt air! It was great to be on the coast again.
The screening at the Mendocino Film Festival was truly profound. Taos Proctor and Kelly Gibson, who are featured in the film, joined me for the Q+A, moderated by veteran filmmaker and old friend Pat Ferrero.
Photo by Ree Slocum courtesy of the Mendocino Film Festival
It was the first time Taos and Kelly had seen the film, an anxious moment for me and I’m sure for them as well. Their stories in Tribal Justice are so raw and personal, with many challenges, setbacks, and triumphs.
Photo by Ree Slocum courtesy of the Mendocino Film Festival
One of the wonderful things that happened was a testimonial from a Pomo couple from a local tribe who were in the audience.
Pomo couple Orval Elliot, Jr., and his wife Diana Billy-Elliot, with Taos and Kelly
Early in the discussion, they thanked Taos and Kelly for opening themselves to the filming, and spoke movingly of how their stories will help Native communities around the country. Their comments put Taos and Kelly at ease and made them feel proud of all they had given to the film.
Kind of a spoiler, but here they are in Mendocino, happy and healthy and free
On to Washtenaw County
Next stop was Ann Arbor, Michigan, to attend one of four screenings at the Cinetopia Film Festival. The screenings were all followed by terrific panels that included Michigan Supreme Court judges, tribal judges, state court judges, and members of the film team.
Hundreds of people packed the beautiful Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.
Judge Tim Connors, law professor and author of TRIBAL COURT PEACEMAKING: A Model for the Michigan State Court System, spoke eloquently about incorporating indigenous justice into state court systems.
Sheldon Spotted Elk (Northern Cheyenne) of the Casey Foundation, Brett Shelton (Oglala Lakota) of the Native American Rights Fund, and our awesome consultant Jennifer Walter spoke powerfully about the stories and issues addressed in Tribal Justice.
Shortly after this wonderful evening at the Cinetopia Film Festival, I was thrilled to learn that I had won the festival’s Documentary Directing Award.
Peacemaking and Collaborative Justice
in a Brooklyn Court
From Michigan I flew to New York for screenings of Tribal Justice at the Brooklyn Film Festival. In the morning, I attended court at the Red Hook Community Justice Center and was very impressed by the restorative, humane methods that Judge Calabrese is using there.
The Justice Center studied tribal justice systems both in designing court procedures and initiating their Peacemaking Program, for which they brought in Navajo judges to train their staff and community members.
That night, we had a lively panel with the Honorable Marcy Kahn, who has served on the New York Supreme Court and chairs the state’s Tribal Courts Committee; Coleta Walker, director of the Red Hook Peacemaking Program; and Edna McGoldrick, Principal Attorney at the Red Hook Community Justice Center. The audience seemed riveted by the discussion.
The Gold Ring — POV
As exciting as these festivals are, the greatest honor for Tribal Justice is its inclusion in the 30th season of POV. I am deeply grateful not only for the broadcast, which will reach millions of Americans, but for all that the POV staff is doing to create discussion guides and arrange free screenings in libraries, town halls, attorney’s offices and more across the country, from Hopland, California, to Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.
For a list of all festival and free community screenings, please visit our Screenings Page.
Again, please like, tweet, and share news of the August 21st PBS broadcast on POV: www.pbs.org/pov/tribaljustice.
And be sure to watch ALL of the POV shows this season. They will move you, surprise you, and open your eyes to many new worlds.
Festival Screenings Coming Soon!
Check out the POV website and our Outreach and Screenings pages for updates on festival, university and conference screenings, as more are being added every day.
MONTRÉAL FIRST PEOPLES' FESTIVAL
PRÉSENCE AUTOCHTONE
Montréal, Canada
Friday, August 4 at 7pm
Cinéma du Parc
The Festival Website
WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL
Woods Hole, Cap Cod, MA
Friday, August 4 at 5pm · Falmouth Academy
Q+A with Anne Makepeace and Mashpee Tribal Judge Jeffrey Madison
The Festival Website
PORT TOWNSEND FILM FESTIVAL
Port Townsend, WA
Friday, September 15 at 6:30pm - Key City Theatre
Sunday, September 17 at 12:30pm, American Legion
Q+A with Tulalip Tribal Court Staff (TBD)
The Festival Website
In addition, many screenings are planned at law schools, conferences, and other professional venues across the country. For complete details or to schedule a special Outreach screening, please visit our Outreach Page.
We Still Live Here and Coming to Light
Still Going Strong
Last month, Jessie Little Doe Baird, who is featured in We Still Live Here, received an honorary Ph.D. from Yale University for her astonishing work in bringing back her people’s language. Go Jessie!
Among the other recipients were former Secretary of State John Kerry, civil rights leader John Lewis, Stevie Wonder, and other amazing luminaries.
We Still Live Here
At the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
I was surprised to receive an invitation to screen We Still Live Here at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival next month as part of the festival’s audience engagement. The film screens in conjunction with a new play by Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) called Off the Rails.
This irreverent, subversive adaptation of Measure for Measure—described as “Blazing Saddles meets Shakespeare” and OSF’s first play by a Native American writer—uses healthy doses of humor and music to illuminate the painful legacy of Indian boarding schools in the American West. — OSF
I’m really looking forward to seeing this play and to exploring the connections between We Still Live Here, a story of language revival against all odds, and this irreverent love story.
Coming to Light
In Muskegon and Calgary
On August 24th I’ll head back to Michigan for a screening of Coming to Light at the Muskegon Museum of Art in conjunction with a large exhibit of Edward Curtis’s images. Click Here for more information.
In September, I’ll fly to Calgary for a screening of Coming to Light at the fabulous Glenbow Museum. I’ll be joined by Jerry Potts (at right in photo below), who opens the film by describing how Curtis' images inspired him and his friends to revive many of their traditions.
Ceremonies are going strong on the Piikani Reserve a few hours south of Calgary. Here I am with Jerry's family at a Thunder Medicine Pipe Bundle opening. It will be great to see my Piikani brother Jerry and his family again.
Tribal Justice Testimonials
It has been such an honor to be able to tell all of these stories, and to form lasting bonds with so many of the people in my films. Deep thanks to everyone: Jerry, Alan, Jessie, Abby, Claudette, Taos, Kelly, Isaac, Elaine, Dru, and so many others.
— Anne Makepeace
And here are a few comments from people who recently watched Tribal Justice at conferences and festivals:
There were so many wonderful comments after the screening. People simply loved it all. I really was proud to be associated with it by helping discuss things and promoting! So nice that you did such an amazing job showing something that has so much meaning, it was easy to support!
—Brett Shelton, Attorney at the Native American Rights Fund
Thanks again for screening Tribal Justice [at Stanford Law School] and for the lively conversation afterward. Your ability to capture the heart of stories and characters is a real gift, and the visual telling connects viewers to places and cultures most would never experience. Extraordinary!
—Karen Biestman, Associate Dean and Director, Native American Cultural Center, Stanford University
Heather, Jenny Walter and Judge White hit the ball out of the park with the movie and presentation. It was the end of the conference where you would think people would want to leave. Folks were staying and asking questions. We eventually had to cut off the questions to close the conference. The National Consortium Board is interested in developing a relationship with Tribal judges and courts and improving state and tribal court relationships.
— Donovan Foughty, North Dakota State Court Judge who attended the conference last May in St. Louis of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.
This conference in St. Louis was sponsored by the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, an important partner with our Tribal Justice team.
A Reward for Reading This Far
Thank you so much for reading this newsletter all the way to the end! As a reward, I would like to offer the first hundred people to get this far free streaming of three of my films. Simply click on the image below and use promo code FREEGIFT at checkout. I hope you will enjoy them.
(We have to cut it off at a hundred because otherwise VHX charges us a fee.)
And be sure to tune into POV/PBS on August 21st!
Streaming Now
Watch and enjoy!
Explore Our Language Website!
OurMotherTongues.org is a companion website for
We Still Live Here that shows the breadth and diversity of language revitalization programs. There are hundreds more in tribal communities all across all America.
Can you guess which icon below goes with which tribe on the Our Mother Tongues website?
Click to find out!
Check out great photos, watch
Videos and learn about many Native American languages from Alaska to North Carolina, Oklahoma to New York, Montana to Massachusetts. There is even an
Interactive Map, a
Voices page where you can listen to thirteen different Native tongues,
a Blog, and a fun feature called
ePostcards offering an entertaining way to connect with friends and family by sending audio greetings in a Native American language.
Please visit OurMotherTongues.org
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