2nd Annual Film Symposium

6:00 pm Doors
6:30 pm Screening Crow Country: Our Right to Food Sovereignty
7:00 pm Screening Adios Amor
8:00 pm Screening The Mayors of Shiprock
9:00 pm Panel Discussion & Q&A to immediately follow with Ramona Emerson, Laurie Coyle, Tsanavi Spoonhunter

NHCC | Bank of America Theatre

Free community event.

Crow country: Our Right To Food Sovereignty is a 20-minute documentary that enlightens its audience to one tribe’s struggle to retain food security. The Crow Indian Reservation is the largest reservation in Montana, encompassing 2.2 million acres of land. There are approximately 8,000 Crow (Apsáalooke) tribal members who live there. In 2017, the Crow Agency laid off 1,000 of its 1,300 employees due to federal government cutbacks, ultimately straining tribal operations and leaving many families struggling to make ends meet. In 2019, the only grocery store on the reservation burnt down, and the owners are not planning to rebuild. For the Crow, the federal and tribal governments are both failing its people.

The Crow Tribe— like most tribes— have been reliant on federal, tribal and non profit food distribution centers. As a result, tribal nations across the country are exploring the idea of ‘food sovereignty,’ the inherent right of a community to identify its own food systems. Returning to traditional and nutritious foods has been shown to be an effective way to restore Native food systems and create employment. However, restrictions on ancestral hunting grounds are preventing tribal members from providing for themselves and their families. CROW COUNTRY tells the stories of three Apsáalooke tribal members: a journalist; an elder; and a hunter, as they try to address these issues, and focuses on their resilience despite the hardships that they face.

Run Time: 20 mins

In Adios Amor, the discovery of lost photographs sparks the search for a hero that history forgot— Maria Moreno, a migrant mother who sacrificed everything but her twelve kids in the passionate pursuit of justice for farmworkers. Years before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta launched the United Farm Workers, Maria picked up the only weapon she had—her voice—and became an outspoken leader in an era when women were relegated to the background. The first farm worker woman in America to be hired as a union organizer, Maria’s story was silenced, and her legacy buried—until now.

Run Time: 58 mins

The Mayors of Shiprock: Every Monday in the small community of Shiprock, New Mexico, a group of young Navajo leaders meet to decide how they will help their community. For over seven years, the Northern Dine Youth Committee has worked to give youth opportunities to directly make changes within their community. But while the NDYC works to make changes, many members also consider their own futures, commitments to family and the world outside of the Shiprock. While they love their community, they all must consider their options both on and off the reservation.

Run Time: 52 mins