In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, the museum presents the latest in Native documentaries, shorts and features during the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market. To see the full list of daily films and times, log onto www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.
Today’s films:
1pm, Shorts Program I (Total running time: 75 min.) Share the Wealth (USA, 2006, 8 min.) Director: Bennie Klain (Navajo) A Native woman on an urban street encounters a stereotypical misunderstanding in this poignant drama and ironic parable. Shown in the 2007 & 2009 Native Cinema Showcases.
Haircuts Hurt (USA, 1992, 20 min.) Director: Randy Redroad (Cherokee) When a Native American woman and her young son encounter racial prejudice at a local barbershop, the soulful sound of a flute played by a Native American street musician inspires them to focus on their culture. Shown in the 2001 Native Cinema Showcase.
I Lost My Shadow (USA, 2011, 3 min.) Director: Nanobah Becker (Navajo) This music video from Laura Ortman’s (White Mountain Apache) second solo album, Someday We’ll Be Together, tells the stories of encounters on the New York subway and features New York City Ballet star, Jock Soto (Navajo). Shown in the 2012 Native Cinema Showcase.
The Shirt (Canada, 2003, 6 min.) Director: Shelley Niro (Mohawk) Photographer Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie is featured as the main character. The film makes an ironic comment on Native history using T-shirt slogans. Shown in the 2004 Native Cinema Showcase.
Honey Moccasin
(Canada, 1998, 47 min.) Director: Shelley Niro (Mohawk) Tantoo Cardinal (Métis) stars as a ballad-singing sleuth who traces the rivalry between two reservation bars. Shown in the 2001 & 2002 Native Cinema Showcases.
7 pm, My Legacy
(Canada, 2014, 60 min.) Director: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in) Struggling with the ability to sustain a lasting relationship, Helen Haig-Brown questions where this lack of skill and inability to commit comes. My Legacy explores the often tenuous relationship between a mother and daughter made more complex by the legacy of residential school. Through understanding her mother’s experience of trauma and disconnection, which shaped her approach to motherhood, Helen finds forgiveness and healing when confronting her own childhood with her mother. Despite the various hardships experienced by the women in her family, Helen’s story is ultimately one of love and forgiveness as she highlights the strength and beauty that has defined her family. In Person: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in)
PRECEDED BY: The Cave (Canada, 2009, 11 min.) Director: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in) In Tsilhqot’in with English subtitles. FOR MATURE AUDIENCES: This film contains some nudity. A hunter discovers a portal to the spirit world in this powerful rendition of a true story from the filmmaker’s community. Shown in the 2012 Native Cinema Showcase.
Su Naa (My Big Brother) (Canada, 2005, 11 min.) Director: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in) A young woman tries to resolve her guilt about the death of her brother. Shown in the 2006 Native Cinema Showcase.
Writing the Land (Canada, 2007, 8 min.) Director: Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) Camera: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in) In English and Hunkamenum. A celebration of Musqueam elder Larry Grant’s experience of rediscovering the Hunkamenum language and cultural traditions in the cityscape of Vancouver, which is located on ancestral Musqueam lands. In Person: Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in).
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