Date: November 14, 2024 | 4:00 – 8:00 PM
Where: UBC Robson Square Theatre
Main Theatre | 800 Robson St.
This event includes a Community dinner served after the first film.
This event is free to attend but space is limited so please register ASAP.
Films
Tea Creek
Ryan Dickie 2024
2024 – 74 min
Against the backdrop of colonization and the climate crisis, Jacob Beaton, a passionate Indigenous entrepreneur, has embarked on a remarkable journey. His vision is to transform his family farm into a beacon of hope for Indigenous Food Sovereignty. In a world where the connection to the land has been fractured, Jacob aims to revive the abundance that once defined Turtle Island.
The Ballad of Crowfoot
Willie Dunn
1968 – 10 min
Released in 1968 and often referred to as Canada’s first music video, The Ballad of Crowfoot was directed by Willie Dunn, a Mi’kmaq/Scottish folk singer and activist who was part of the historic Indian Film Crew, the first all-Indigenous production unit at the NFB. The film is a powerful look at colonial betrayals, told through a striking montage of archival images and a ballad composed by Dunn himself about the legendary 19th-century Siksika (Blackfoot) chief who negotiated Treaty 7 on behalf of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
Karuara, People of the River
Miguel Araoz Cartagena and Stephanie Boyd
2024 – 77 min version
“Karuara, People of the River” is a 2024 documentary that delves into the lives and struggles of the Kukama Indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon. The story follows a courageous Indigenous woman and her community as they confront powerful interests to protect their river and its sacred spirits. Central to the film is a groundbreaking legal battle in which the Kukama people fight for the Marañón River to be recognized as a person with rights, echoing real-world movements advocating for environmental personhood. The film highlights the community’s efforts to preserve both their culture and the natural environment from external threats.
Speakers
Jacob Beaton – Dzap’l Gye’a̱win Skiik (meaning a busy eagle, or an eagle who gets things done) Lead Contributor at Tea Creek
Jacob Beaton is an award-winning Indigenous entrepreneur and leader with a wealth of business successes under his belt. Jacob currently leads Tea Creek, an innovative, holistic and award-winning, Indigenous-led, land-based, and culturally safe Indigenous Food Sovereignty training center.
An innovator who has successfully combined leading-edge technology and practice with Indigenous principles, Jacob is a firm believer in both good data and process, and the strength of Indigenous culture. Jacob traces his heritage to Haida Gwaii, Heiltsuk (Bella Bella), Gitxaala (Tsimshian) and the British Isles. His name Dzapł Gygyaawn Sgyiik (an eagle who gets it done right now) was given to him from the Gispaxloats tribe.
Mariluz Canaquiri Muryari (Indigenous Activist and Film Producer)
Mary Luz is president of the Kukama Women’s Federation of the Maranon and Samiria Rivers. She has worked tirelessly on campaigns to defend the Amazon’s rivers and indigenous territory for the past 20 years. In 2023 she won an environmental defender award from the Yves Rocher foundation in France and spoke at the UN conference on water in New York. “Karuara, People of the River” is her first feature-length film.
Stephanie Boyd (Filmmaker and Writer)
Stephanie has spent the past 27 years living and working in Peru as a filmmaker and writer. Despite having a severe hearing impairment, she has produced and directed three award-winning feature documentaries: “Choropampa, The Price of Gold” (2002), Tambogrande, Mangos, Murder, Mining (2008) and “The Devil Operation” (2010). These films have been screened at over 100 international festivals, won over 25 awards and broadcast worldwide on stations including the Sundance Channel, Outside TV, CBC Country Canada, Al Jazeera and others. Stephanie was born and raised in Oshawa Ontario, where she learned about workers’ rights, industrial contamination and the power of social protest.
Tara Atleo (Assistant Profesor at UBC Faculty of Forestry)
Dr. Tara Atleo, haḥuuła, is a stewardship economics researcher and Indigenous sustainable development practitioner from the Ahousaht First Nation, house of ƛaqišpiił.
Tara is passionately committed to the principles of stewardship, dedicating her work to exploring innovative approaches to upholding and advancing Indigenous law and governance. Her focus in this area is the intersection of economic considerations as elements of sustainable development and natural resource management.
Miguel Araoz Cartagena (Director, Cinematographer, Animations)
Miguel is a visual artist from Cusco, Peru. “Karuara” is his first feature-length film. His paintings have been exhibited in France, Switzerland, Brazil, and Peru. His work has been published and exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of Washington.
In 2019, he directed the short animation “And That is How the Rivers Come to Be,” screened at more than 20 international film festivals and won the best-animated film at the Montreal First Peoples’ Festival. Miguel incorporated hand-drawn and 2D Animation techniques for the Karuara Film.