Honoring Our Veterans - Free Viewings

NATIVE STORIES FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

November2016

Honoring Our Veterans

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died also are remembered on Veterans Day, that day is set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military--in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served--not only those who died--have sacrificed and done their duty. Vision Maker Media's Producer Charles "Boots" Kennedye will serve as Head Man Gourd Dancer for the Veterans Day Gourd Dance & Hand Game at the Indian Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, Nov. 13. We honor our veterans with free viewings of four films, Nov. 10-13 on VMM's YouTube channel. We hope you enjoy our films.

Veterans Day Special

Free viewings: Nov. 10-13 on VMM's YouTube channel

http://bit.ly/VMMYouTube

The Aleut Story - 87 minutes

In the turbulence of war, in a place where survival was just short of miraculous, the Aleuts of Alaska would redefine themselves and America. From indentured servitude and isolated internment camps, to Congress and the White House, this is the incredible story of the Aleut's decades-long struggle for our nation's ideals.

Choctaw Code Talkers - 57 minutes

In 1918, not yet citizens of the United States, Choctaw members of the American Expeditionary Forces were asked to use their Native language as a powerful tool against the German Forces in World War I--setting a precedent for code talking as an effective military weapon and establishing them as America's original code talkers. Viewer Discussion Guide

"I'm really proud that my grandfather was a Code Talker. I tried to tell anybody and everybody that wanted to talk about it. I'm proud of him. Our Choctaw language--our heritage itself--helped end World War I." - Margaret McWilliams, granddaughter of Choctaw Code Talker, Corporal Calvin Wilson

Anthem from Injunuity

3 minutes

A re-interpretation of our national anthem, featuring the voice of 18-year-old Braunwyn Walsh (Navajo/Diné).

Wampum from Injunuity

3 minutes

Ohlone Anthony Sul discusses the power of the almighty dollar, how it influences our lives in almost every way, and how concepts like money, consumerism and profit-at-all-costs run counter to the Native American belief system.

Boarding School Stories

Completes Interactive Curriculum Prototype

Director Jonathan Skurnik and his team recently completed the prototype of their project funded by Vision Maker Media, an interactive curriculum for Boarding School Stories, a visual history archive of boarding school survivor and alumni testimonies:

autry.iii.com/screens/oralhist.html

The curriculum is designed for high school and college history instructors to teach about the history of Indian boarding schools, centralizing the testimonies of Native elders who experienced it. The curriculum also connects the boarding school history to students' personal experiences and to similar events in world history and current events. The team presented the prototype to a group of 30 educators at the Autry Museum of the American West on Oct 25.

After implementing the educators' excellent feedback, the team will roll out the prototype at select schools for further beta testing, then apply for funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities to write and design the full complement of lessons.

Educators who wish to beta test the curriculum in the classroom contact [email protected].
Boarding School Stories is a project of the Cante Sica Foundation cantesica.org and is an outgrowth of Skurnik and Randy Vasquez's VMM-funded film The Thick Dark Fog visionmakermedia.org/films/thick-dark-fog, which told the story of a Lakota elder's effort to heal himself and his community from the legacy of boarding school trauma, a crucial but largely ignored episode in Native American history.

Celebrate!

40 Years. 40 Films. 40 Weeks

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, a collection of 40 films will be available for free streaming--a different film each week--through Aug. 7, 2017. Available on: visionmakermedia.org and americanarchive.org. View Complete Schedule

We're On the Road: Come Find Us

Nov. 10-12: AISES, Minneapolis
Nov. 18-20: Indigenous Comic Con, Albuquerque

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