Film Projects
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In the heart of the world's largest intact boreal wetland, a tiny First Nation community is fighting to protect their lands, water and way of life.
Governments are refusing to listen and a giant mining corporation is determined to mine the Ring of Fire on Neskantaga land.
And at the heart of it all, the pure waters of the Attawapiskat River.
The Elders of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation say the water flows through their blood and their bodies are built of the trout that swim in these clean rivers and lakes. Taking care of their watershed is a relationship at the core of who they are as an Indigenous Nation, it is a responsibility handed down to them from the Creator through the teachings of their Elders.
April 7, 2010, Toronto - On World Health Day, members of Grassy Narrows First Nation lead a march of over 250 people to the seat of the Provincial Government at Queen's Park. The Grassy Narrows People have travelled 1,800 km to deliver their demands for restitution for mercury poisoning whose health effects in the community are worse now than when Ontario first banned fishing in their river 40 years ago, according to a newly translated study by Japanese mercury expert Dr. Harada. The Provincial government has compounded the impacts of mercury on the community's health, culture, and economy by permitting decades of unwanted clear-cut logging, and mining activity on their territory.
More info:
freegrassy.org
This multimedia piece focuses on communities in San Marcos, Guatemala, living next to the Canadian-owned Marlin Mine. The first two songs are by Grupo Kotzic, who are from San Marcos, singing about the peoples' resistance to the mine. The third song is a live recording from inside the Church of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, San Marcos, where community members were singing a song they wrote about their experiences with the mine.
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) has governed and cared for their Indigenous Homeland, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Aaki, since time before memory.
In 2008, KI's Chief and five community leaders were jailed for refusing to allow mining exploration which threatened KI's water supply. The remote First Nation community succeeded in fighting off mining exploration by Platinex Inc. But now other companies are staking claims within KI territory. KI's pristine waters, their sacred landscape, and the lake trout they depend on are at risk.
KILands.org
High in the mountains of the Philippine island of Mindoro, members of the Alangan tribe live in the village of Kisluyan, on the same land their ancestors have lived on for generations.
Kisluyan is one of 26 indigenous villages that face the threat of displacement by the Mindoro Nickel Project, a proposed open pit nickel mine on their ancestral land.
The Alangan are one of eight indigenous tribes in Mindoro, known collectively as the Mangyan. The Mangyan once occupied the whole island. As more and more settlers began moving to the island, the Mangyan were gradually pushed off the more fertile areas higher and higher into the mountains. Now, with the proposed mine threatening to push them off their mountain, they are left with nowhere to go.
For the Alangan, their land is the very foundation of their identity. Generation after generation, the Mangyan have been taught to care for the land; "we take care of the land, and the land will take care of us." Many of them believe that disaster will befall them if their sacred lands are desecrated by the proposed nickel mine.