 |
 |
* Posted on behalf of Chantelle Richmond * During the 2013 LA Meeting of the AAG, you are invited to a special screening of "Gifts from the Elders" *Gifts from the Elders* By Chantelle Richmond & Award-Wnning Filmmaker James M. Fortier April 10, 2013 8PM Westin Hotel, Beaudry B (Lobby Level) Sponsored by Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group of the AAG For more information contact: [log in to unmask] 519-661-2111, ext. 85324 Film Synopsis "*Gifts from the Elders*" is a one-hour documentary that portrays the experiences of five Anishinabe youth who are hired as summer research interns on a community-based health study. The youth spend a week at Western University (London, Ontario), where they are trained in research methods, and interrelated issues of environmental dispossession, Indigenous Knowledge transference, and chronic health and social issues that prevail in many Anishinabe communities in Northern Ontario. They then return to their communities (Batchewana First Nation and Pic River First Nation) to begin their assignment: to interview and record local Elder's stories and knowledge of these issues. "*Gifts from the Elders*" captures their journey back to preceding generations that lived a healthy lifestyle off of the land, and chronicles the devastating impact that environmental and cultural dispossession had on the flow of knowledge from Elders to youth, and ultimately on the health of their communities. As their summer comes to an end, the youth emerge with "gifts" of knowledge and teachings from their Elders, inspiring a renewed determination to forge a hopeful and healthy future for the next generation. Chantelle Richmond, PhD Bio Chantelle Richmond, PhD, is an Anishinabe scholar from Pic River First Nation. She holds a CIHR New Investigator in Aboriginal Health and she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, with cross appointments in the First Nation Studies Program, and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Professor Richmond’s research is framed by community-based approaches that aim to understand how processes of environmental dispossession, both historic and contemporary, work to affect social determinants of health among Indigenous peoples. Chantelle collaborates with various First Nation communities and Aboriginal organizations, including government agencies, to study these important issues. Professor Richmond is enthusiastic about the role that knowledge translation (KT) plays in her research. She sees the KT piece as critical for increasing capacity in the communities she works with, through her teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and as she engages in public policy. James M. Fortier Bio James is an enrolled member of the Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation, located in Ontario, Canada. James is an accomplished documentary filmmaker and website producer. Since 1995, his documentary work has focused primarily on Native American and First Nation communities and issues. He has won numerous awards including 3 Emmy Awards and most recently the DuPont Columbia Award for his contribution as episode producer and director for Bad Sugar, part of the national PBS health series Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? James’ first documentary, *Alcatraz Is Not An Island* screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2001 and aired nationally on PBS and APTN in Canada. Other documentary works include the six hour PBS Ojibwe series *Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look In All Directions, Voices for the Land, Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire, Playing Pastime: American Indians, Softball, and Survival, Green Green Water,* and two documentaries for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, *Pulling Together*, and *Gathering Together*. James was the Artist in Residence at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2009 where he conducted a four week video production lab for the American Indian Studies Department course, American Indian Stereotypes in Film, and presented several of his documentaries for students and faculty. James is currently developing several documentary projects and working on a screenplay adaptation of *Alcatraz Is Not An Island*. ____________________________ Chantelle AM Richmond, PhD Assistant Professor & CIHR New Investigator Geography and First Nation Studies Western University 1151 Richmond Street London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2 Tel: 519 661-2111, ext. 85324 Fax: 519 661-3750 E-mail: [log in to unmask] www.indigenoushealthlab.ca ---------------------------------- Mei-Po Kwan University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [log in to unmask] http://meipokwan.org <[log in to unmask]>