Musical documentary depicts First Nations empowerment
The story of a newspaper and how it helped unite a group of First Nations activists fighting for social justice is the subject of a documentary that will come to Haines in November.
The Haines Arts Council will be screening the award-winning musical documentary “The Road Forward.”
The documentary explores the civil rights history of Canada’s First Nations from the 1930s to the present. Interviews with members of Canada’s oldest First Nations organizations reveal racism in politics that sparked the movement’s beginnings. The film portrays the creation of The Native Voice, a newspaper that helped unite First Nations members and promote the movement.
“The Native Voice established a lifeline between the First Nations of British Columbia, uniting them to advocate socially, politically and legally in order to effect profound change on a national level,” the film’s website states.
The documentary includes story-songs based on articles from the newspaper performed by an ensemble of Canadian musicians and vocalists. Blues, rock and traditional music are featured. Songs portray stories about missing and murdered indigenous women along with calls to action, the documentary’s website says.
Arts Council member Matt Whitman saw the documentary at the Atlin Arts and Music Festival in British Columbia and wanted to bring the movie to Haines.
“It was just a really well done film,” Whitman said. “The film is not a mainstream film. With the arts council I’m trying to get films that are a little bit more unique that way. I try to get things that deal with these northern regions.”
The documentary will be screened Thursday, Nov. 2 in the Chilkat Center at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for general admission and $6 for students and Haines Arts Council members.
Annual film festival features adventure stories, nature docs
The eighth annual “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” fundraiser will feature nine mini documentaries at Harriett Hall, Friday Nov. 10. This year’s films, ranging in length from seven to 20 minutes, tell adventure stories, explore natural history and highlight conservation issues.
One film tells the story of two older men who team up to recreate an adventure they had in the Brooks Range as young men. Others explore the natural histories of the rusty patched bumblebee and ospreys.
Proceeds will go toward the Southeast Alaska State Fair and the Takshanuk Watershed Council.
Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door and $45 for families. Advance tickets can be purchased at Harriett Hall, The Babbling Book and Dragon’s Nook, and the American Bald Eagle Foundation. Festival goers can purchase dinner, beer and wine. Free popcorn will be available. Door open at 6 p.m. and the films will begin at 7 p.m.
Silk and photography weaves strands on Mud Bay’s landscape
Woven silk strands dangle like lichen and flow like streams in the Sheldon Museum’s newest exhibit “Flow and Texture on Mud Bay.”
The exhibit, featuring work by Robin Grace and Dana Van Burgh, opened Oct. 20 and will be on display through November.
Grace’s knitted stainless steel and copper core silk thread sculpture is influenced by the textures and movement of Mud Bay.
“They intermingle. They twine through each other like lichens,” Grace said. “It’s kind of about integration, coming together, pulling apart; very feminine and sensual feelings related to the water and the movement in the sky. That’s what I’m attracted to.”
Tanned salmon skins serve as the base for some of her two and three dimensional pieces.
Grace has been knitting for 30 years. After struggling with painting, a friend recommended she use knitting as a medium for her artistic expression.
“I didn’t want to make things that look like sweaters and hang them up,” Grace said. “I just discovered this thread that had a core that would hold shape because it had metal in it and so then I just started knitting and these pieces came out.”
On a walk with neighbor Van Burgh, the pair discovered they had a similar aesthetic for the texture, color and movement of their home’s landscape.
While most of their work has been created separately, one of Van Burgh’s images, “Hooligan Run,” inspired Grace to create her own piece.
“Hooligan run” captures the blue and silver ripples of water as a school of hooligan swims. Next to the photograph, blue and white silk mingle and splay like the photograph’s water.
“Without knowing, he had his body of work and I had my body of work,” Grace said. “We put them together and we realized it really reflected similar attributes, similar aesthetics.”
First Friday features new band, travel photography and owl
Merrick Bochart’s new paintings will be displayed at The Skipping Stone Studios for November’s First Friday. Jojo Goerner and Ben Aultman-Moore’s band “Aurora and the Fun Guys” will perform originals and covers.
Joe Ordonez photographed his recent trip down Northwest Territory’s Nahanni River. His black and white prints, along with favorite images taken over his past 30 years of travel, will be on display at the Alaska Arts Confluence.
Signed copies of his recently published book “Where the Eagles Gather, The Story of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Haines, Alaska” will be available as well.
Port Chilkoot Distillery will feature Tom Ganner’s photography from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Alaska Bald Eagle Foundation will bring an owl to the Haines Brewing Company beer garden.