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PHOTO CREDITS ABOVE:
Header:
 David Hernández Palmar/Reciprocity Project
Clockwise: Wampis house by David Rothschild, Luciano Peas by Martina Aviles (Kara Solar), Justyn Ah Chong/Reciprocity Project, Felipe Contreras
Graphic courtesy of Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

STORYTELLING: BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

Indigenous Media Makers Head to Big Sky

We are excited to make our way to the beautiful homelands of the Salish, Kootenai, and Kalispel in western Montana to attend and support the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula from February 18 - 27. In our time at Big Sky, we are looking forward to premiering Season One of the Reciprocity Project film series, gathering together in the second convening of the 4th World Media Lab filmmakers, in addition to launching our Kin Theory Indigenous media makers database. These three initiatives at Nia Tero serve to uphold and expand the awareness of Indigenous storytellers and will hopefully be a source of support to these artists for years to come.
 
Ultimately, we are simply thrilled to be in community since it will be the first time for many of us to gather in person in two years, and Big Sky is the perfect welcoming to come together and make new friends. In fact, over 200 filmmakers will be in attendance, with at least 10% Indigenous representation, thanks to the thoughtful intentions and programming of the festival organizers wanting to be a platform for Indigenous-made content. 
 
“Big Sky is one of my favorite film festivals. They take such great care to program amazing films, and they are also wonderful at nurturing and building community while providing access to key industry decision-makers. Most importantly, their commitment to Indigenous-made stories, workshops, and relationship-building stands out as true allyship in action!” – Tracy Rector, Managing Director, Storytelling at Nia Tero.

Nia Tero is proud to sponsor Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in 2022. The festival runs from February 18 – 27. Follow our social accounts for the latest festival updates about Indigenous film screenings, 4th World Media Lab, the Reciprocity Project premiere, and Kin Theory launch!

 
Purchase Tickets for In-Person and Virtual Events at Big Sky
Photo from "Pohnpei: Indigenous Learning Recovery Project" film shared by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.

REGION: PASIFIKA

Indigenous Learning Recovery in Pohnpei
By Anne Quidez

The Indigenous Learning Recovery Project (ILR) is bringing traditional knowledge, language, and practices to formal learning spaces in Pohnpei.

At Saladak Elementary School (U Municipality, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia), ten elders taught classes for over 200 students in grades 4-8. Students learned skills in carving, traditional dance and storytelling, proverbs, weaving, gardening, fishing methods, village names, and honorific language and customary practices.

This project was the work of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), under the leadership of Canita Rilometo Nakamura, and in partnership with Pohnpei Department of Education and Nia Tero.

Watch a Video About the Indigenous Learning Recovery Project
OPI Executive Secretary Fábio Ribeiro meets with community in the northern Amazon during his tenure with FUNAI. Photo courtesy of Fábio Ribeiro.

REGION: AMAZONIA

New Brazilian Group Advocates for Isolated Peoples
By John Reid

This month, under heavy pressure from the media and human rights organizations, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) of Brazil reversed its recent refusal to protect a group people who live in voluntary isolation near the Xingu river. The Ituna-Itatá first received protection over ten years ago to prevent their decimation by a wave of settlement that was predicted as a consequence of the new Belo Monte dam, the world’s fourth largest. A January 2022 report revealed that the reserve set aside for its uncontacted inhabitants was the most deforested Indigenous territory in Brazil—even with official protection. Absent protection, many feared the Ituna-Itatá would be quickly exterminated.
 
One of the authors of the report was a Nia Tero partner, the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, or COIAB, a well-known group with decades of high-profile work to defend rights of the original peoples of the basin. COAIB’s co-author was a much lesser-known group, the Observatory for Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Peoples. In just over two years since its 2019 founding, OPI has become a leading advocate for the rights of peoples in the remotest corners of the Amazon who can’t speak for themselves. Begun as an all-volunteer effort, OPI has worked alongside Indigenous organizations to win major court victories and has drawn national media attention to the human rights of peoples who elect to live outside the bounds of the modern industrial economy.
 
OPI has been a Nia Tero partner since 2021. We talked to OPI’s Executive Secretary Fábio Ribeiro about the organization’s early successes and plans to assure that isolated peoples can continue to live in peace in their territories. Read the full interview at the link below.

Read the Full Article & Interview
Tapiatpia. Photo by Hana Begovic, Kara Solar.

LISTEN: SEEDCAST

The Boat of Dreams: How the Achuar Embraced Solar Power

Season Two of our Seedcast podcast is live! In the season premiere episode, listen and learn about the partnership between the Achuar people living in the rainforests of the Ecuadorian Amazon and an organization called Kara Solar, which has resulted in cleaner waters, quieter rivers, and community connection through the use of solar power.

Listen to Seedcast now at the link below, or tune in and subscribe wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcasts!

Listen to Seedcast Now

Read. Listen. Watch. Learn. 

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We acknowledge the land on which we gather as the traditional homelands of the Coast Salish peoples. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude as guests and to thank the original and current stewards of this land. As we travel beyond Coast Salish territories, we are committed to acknowledging the First Peoples of every community we visit.

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