Uprivers, Regresando/Returning and Live Storytelling

Two new projects in the works
Plus live local storytelling

Check out our other projects in production here.

Uprivers
A documentary about the impact of the mining boom in British Columbia. An exploration of two rivers and the people and communities who live, work and harvest the salmon from the rivers. Filming begins in late January. Check back for updates. 

 

Regresando/Returning

Years ago, Ellen Frankenstein created a series of black and white documentary images in Nicaragua. Now she wants to return and see if she can find people in the photographs.

Live Storytelling
True stories. Live.  Each even has a particular theme, and storytellers perform without the help of notes or a script.
We co-hosted a live storytelling event called  "Kicking the Beehive: Stories of Stirring up Trouble and Bursting Bubbles" with the Island’s Institute in December. More events to come in 2016! Plus we will post some of the audio.

Images and Artwork by Annika Ord

Tracing Roots Screenings, Guide & Broadcast

Travels with Tracing Roots

We just got back from an amazing sceening tour with Tracing Roots. As part of the trip, Delores Churchill, a master weaver and Haida elder, visited collections and demonstrated weaving techniques. Stops included the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, the Harvard Peabody and Smithsonian's National Museum of National History.  

Delores at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History with Anthropologist Stephen Loring and Public Programmer, Naimah Muhmmad. 

Screenings are such a powerful way to interact with audiences. We talked about issues of ownership and language preservation. We touched on how art and culture connects and inspires people. Weaving and creating baskets from spuce roots is a strong example of how we connect to each other and to where we live. 

We also went to Yale University and shared the film at the Native American Cultural Center. As Delores told  staff reporter Ivona Jacob, "Weavng is such an important part of art history" Churchill said. "I feel encouraged when I speak to people like you, because I know it is important to you."  

As Ivona writes, "Churchill highlighted that the spruce root hat, which is central to the film, was discovered because of a retreating glacier, a natural phenomenon that she said occurs as a result of global warming.Even so, Churchill noted that she thinks younger generations have the ability to reverse the phenomenon’s negative effects. “Nature knows a lot more than we do and it makes you realize that global warming is really happening,” she said. “It is people like you, young people who are going to make it stop.” Read an more from the article from the Yale Daily News. 

Broadcast on Public Television

In celebration of Native American Heritage month, Tracing Roots will be broadcast on public television! So far there are 543 telecasts scheduled across the country.
On November 8th and 9th the film shows on Iowa, Idaho and Oregon Public Television, in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Missoula, Salt Lake City and elswehere!

We cut out over six minutes of the sceeening version of Tracing Roots and have worked with public TV station KTOO-TV, in Juneau to prep the film for national release. Offered through NETA and the World Channel.
 

Downloadable Guide Now Ready!

Just finished: a new study guide made to help teachers and students develop an understanding of Indigenous history, heritage and contemporary artistic tradition Discussion points, classroom activities and assignments, and additional resources are provided to assist in delving deeper into some of the issues raised in “Tracing Roots,” including: the links between heritage and the perpetuation of culture; the concepts of stewardship and caretaking; the protection of and control over artistic works as intellectual property; and the role of Elders in teaching and learning traditional cultural practices.

Tracing Roots Study Guide [PDF]

                            In the collections of the EitelJorg Museum

                      Delores works with filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein at the Smithsonian. The film is done. seems Delores wants to make sure the filmmaker can demonstate weaving as                                   well as document it. 

Thanks

We have so many people and organizations to thank for helping us travel, produce the guide and get the film out to public televison. That includes among many others who made the project possible: the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Recovering Voices and Arctic Studies Program at the Smithsonian, Indiana, Yale and Harvard Universities  the Awesome Foundation and the First People's Fund.

Ellen Frankenstein, gives a talk at Galluadet University as part of the tour.. She's projecting an image called "Kim with a Doll" from a documentary still series made in Barbados. Photo by Brian Greenwald.

                                                An awesome journey. On the train from New Haven to D.C, we talk about art and expression on whatever form it takes!

A Challenge to Think

Seven weeks ago I arrived in Sitka, Alaska ready to start my Frankentweet experience. Unsure of what I would be doing in a project that was “examining this digital age that we live in,” I went to Ellen’s studio to get my tasks for the first week. I quickly learned that a major part of my time would be spent trying some digital disruptions, hijinks or interventions (call them what you like and watch them here!) to make people think about technology and its significant influence in our lives. I won’t bore you with the details of each intervention or the brainstorming process or the innumerable Google searches for How to convert one type of footage to another so that I can edit it on this stupid computer. I will say, however, that the questions that fall under the header of “examining this digital age that we live in” are essentially limitless.

 From cell phones to satellites, from Facebook to self-driving cars, from government surveillance to my Netflix queue, technology, in all of its forms, dominates many parts of the world in which we live. This summer, most of my “Frankentweeting” explored, or better put, attempted to explore social media, communication, and what those little handheld machines do to our relationships and identities. The people we spoke to always had a comment, or several, about their devices. Some recited recipes for successful technological detoxes. Some commented on educational practices and iPads. Some feel more connected. Some disconnected. Some have friends. Some have more “real” friends, or so they say. Some people have been cyber bullied. Some people did the bullying. The question we were asking people centered on connection. What do these devices, Facebook pages, and Instagram accounts change about our human connections?

Although I can’t make a concrete statement about whether or not technology is destroying our relationships and concepts of self, because the topic is much more complex than that, I will say that as my eyes descend toward that screen the rest of the world begins to disappear from my view.

I challenge you to think about the ways in which technology and this digital era affects your life. Think about the ways you use technology each day. Does social media influence your identity? How does it affect your relationships? Your work? The way you communicate? Do you feel more connected or isolated? What else is going to be affected?

Frankentweet is about the process of sifting through these questions, collecting more thoughts, more opinions and more questions. What is the big comment or insight after seven weeks? Everybody has something to say and that process should continue because it will open up much greater depth. Frankentweet is still waiting to decide exactly what its comment is. We hope you will join us. 

Frankentweet is an interactive project, and we need your questions, thoughts and videos! Provoke a discussion in your community, and share it with us!

Patrick Sullivan is studying political science at Yale University. He is always curious to learn something new. This summer, Patrick is working as special projects coordinator at Artchange, Inc. 

What Is Away?

View from Mt. Verstovia.  Source: Julia Rosenheim

I’ve been in Sitka for a little more than a month, and now, when I overhear some fishermen laughing about their catch as I sip from a mug of coffee in the Back Door Café, I don’t think much of it. A month ago, I would have; I’m from New York City, where “fresh” fish arrives from somewhere else, somewhere totally abstract. When I first arrived in Sitka, the direct contact with the source of our food struck me. Now, the initial thrill of this aspect of the culture has subsided, replaced by a constant gratitude I feel for it every day.

I'm not in New York City anymore. 

What does it mean for me to be away? In addition to exploring a new place, a new community, a new culture, do I feel separate from my home life? During the first few weeks of my internship at Artchange, I tried to call and text friends every night. The time difference of four hours meant it was quite difficult for me to talk to friends and family living their lives on the east coast, but I’d stop to snap a picture of a ripe salmonberry on a walk into town to send to a friend thousands of miles away. The geographic distance between my social circle and my life here made me want to engage with things like Facebook even more than I do at home.

Salmonberries to post online. 

But shouldn’t being away mean a break from that social network? Why does it pull me in even more than usual? This is one of the paradoxes that the Frankentweet project is exploring.

In my interviews with cruise ship tourists, I ask them what it means to be away. Some of them talk about being away as a chance to explore a new way of life, others mention a break from work. What is interesting to me, however, is how many talk about “peace and quiet.” When I prod further, I find that this quiet isn’t really the absence of audible noise, but rather, it is more aptly put as a lack of media clamor. One man described the delight of not being able to check his phone on a boat without cell service. Another woman talked about how wonderful it is that she is only able to access wifi when they are in port.

Tourist snaps a picture outside Totem Park. 

At first, these responses seem pretty standard, especially in the digital age. But after further reflection, I wonder why we feel it is so necessary to engage with our devices in our everyday lives if we know how great it is to have peace and quiet? What is it about technology that draws us in so much? One girl talked to me about how she does miss having wifi on board the cruise ship. Like me at the beginning of my time in Sitka, she yearns for this media noise. How does our culture and values contribute to this?

Paying Attention.

Furthermore, the process of collecting interviews has revealed to me that people may be unaccustomed to the act of confronting both the benefits and consequences of technology in our lives. The way a man shrugged and laughed after he admitted that he uses his device way too much, the sheepish smile of a girl who talked about how playing games on her iPhone often separates her from the people around her, the nods of agreement coming from a woman’s family as she described the frustration of a friend ignoring her to check texts at dinner – to me, these moments suggest that perhaps on some level, we all recognize the way our devices alter our lives, whether it be by putting up barriers, connecting us to new communities, allowing us to feel an artificial tie to people far away. The question is: what are we going to do about it? Are we prepared to address it?

This process has made me more aware of the fact that I don’t feel the need to check in with friends and family back home as much as I did in the beginning of my time here. Now when I walk past bushes brimming with ripe salmonberries, I don’t think about sending a picture of them to a friend, I just pick them and eat them right away, with no other motive.

Do they taste better?

What are you noticing?

Check out facebook.com/pages/frankentweet and follow us on instagram at Frankentweet to see what we're up to. 

Julia Rosenheim is studying anthropology and political science at Yale University. She is passionate about exploring new places and cultures. This summer, Julia is working as an intern for Artchange, Inc.