New film “Bounty” shifts documentary filmmaking by centering Indigenous voices
A review and interview with Adam Mazo, Dawn Neptune Adams, Maulian Dana and Carmella Bear.
“Documentary filmmakers at the Upstander Project have become deeply committed to a different way of filmmaking, according to the Boston-based nonprofit’s co-founder and director Adam Mazo. Central to that mission is overcoming indifference to social injustice by creating compelling documentary films that center the voices of those most impacted to reach the heart of social issues. The accompanying learning resources distributed alongside the film are part of a broad impact strategy that contextualizes the films for educators and general audiences while pointing them toward action-oriented campaigns for social change.”
Continue reading at The Scope Boston.
The People of the Dawn
“DAWNLAND - An untold story of Native American child removal, the stakes of family separation policy are no less than cultural survival.”
“DAWNLAND - An untold story of Native American child removal, the stakes of family separation policy are no less than cultural survival.
They were forced to assimilate into white society: children ripped away from their families, depriving them of their culture and erasing their identities. Can reconciliation help heal the scars from childhoods lost? Dawnland is the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the US through the nation's first-ever government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission, which investigated the devastating impact of Maineís child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people. The Wabanaki are the people who are there to greet the light, "the people of the dawn," in the upper Northeast. For decades, Maineís child welfare system placed Wabanaki children in foster or adoptive homes under the presumption that assimilating into white society would improve their quality of life and give them a better future. Many children in the system suffered untold physical and psychological abuse. Their story brings to light how getting to the heart of the truth can offer a flicker of hope.”
Continue reading at WJCT News.
‘Dawnland’ Documents Healing Process For Native Americans Taken From Maine Homes
“Maine Calling Host Jennifer Rooks spoke with Dawn Neptune Adams, a Penobscot who was taken and placed in foster care by the state of Maine. She also spoke with Esther Anne, a Passamaquoddy who served on the commission, and with filmmaker Adam Mazo.”
“The documentary “Dawnland” tells the story of Native American children who for the better part of the 20th century had been taken from their families and placed in foster care with white families. Many experienced abuse and were stripped of their cultural identity.
The film also tells the story of the first truth and reconciliation commission for Native people, which was launched in Maine.
“Dawnland” airs nationwide Monday night as part of the PBS series “Independent Lens.”
Maine Calling Host Jennifer Rooks spoke with Dawn Neptune Adams, a Penobscot who was taken and placed in foster care by the state of Maine. She also spoke with Esther Anne, a Passamaquoddy who served on the commission, and with filmmaker Adam Mazo, who says the inspiration for the film was a news story on the commission produced by Maine Public Radio more than five years ago.”
Continue reading and listen at Maine Public.
Dawnland Documentary Shows How the U.S. Government Took Indigenous Children From Their Homes — and Placed Them With White Families
"They were taught that being Indigenous was wrong, and this happened to generations of kids."
“Dawn Adams was only a child when her mother’s parental rights were terminated by the U.S. government; two years later, her adoption process began. Then, at age 15, Adams, a child of the Wabanaki community in Maine, was taken from her home and placed in foster care. Like other Indigenous children throughout the U.S., Adams, who was named Neptune prior to her adoption, was led to believe that her people didn’t want her and was placed with a white family to live out the remainder of her childhood.
The Maine resident is just one of the many Indigenous people profiled in the new documentary film Dawnland, which puts a spotlight on the U.S. government's history of systematically taking Native American children from their homes and placing them with white families.”
Continue reading at Teen Vogue.
“Dawnland” on Independent Lens | November 5
“Follow the First Government-Endorsed Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States as Maine Investigates the Devastating Impacts of Native American Child Removal”
“Dawnland reveals the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the United States through the first government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) in the nation, tasked with investigating the devastating impact of Maine’s child welfare practices on Native American communities. With exclusive access to this groundbreaking process and never-before-seen footage, Dawnland bears witness to intimate, sacred moments of truth-telling and healing. Directed by Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip, the film premieres on Independent Lens Monday, November 5, 2018, 10:00-11:00 PM as part of Native American Heritage Month programming on PBS.”
Continue reading at WOUB.
Interview With Directors Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip On Their New Film, “Dawnland”
Learn about the forces that drove Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip to make the film Dawnland.
“Boston-based filmmaker Adam Mazo is quick to admit that he knew little about Native populations growing up in Minnesota.
He’s committed to changing that for future generations with “Dawnland,” the 90-minute documentary premiering this month at the Cleveland International Film Festival. The film centers on the decades of government policy that forced Native children from their families and into adoptive homes, foster care and boarding schools. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards will sponsor three screenings.
The idea for “Dawnland” was sparked from Mazo’s work on another film, “Coexist,” about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. “We were talking about how it felt wrong to not be teaching about genocide in this country’s history,” he said.”
Continue reading at Anisfield Book Awards.
Teaching about Cultural Genocide
Conversation between Upstander Project’s Adam Mazo and Dr. Mishy Lesser with Education Talk Radio’s Larry Jacobs.
Upstander Project was featured today on Education Talk Radio. Thanks to Larry Jacobs for the coverage. Listen to the archived show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edutalk/2016/12/12/teaching-about-cultural-genocide
Rwanda Genocide's Tough Lessons On 'Othering'
Joining NPR’s Tell Me More podcast is Mishy Lesser. She's the learning director for the Coexist Learning Project and she was in charge of developing the curriculum. Also included in the interview is Joanie Landrum. She teaches English as a second language at East Hartford High School in Connecticut and she used to this film in a lesson for students.
“Creators of the new documentary "Coexist" spoke to Rwandan genocide survivors about forgiveness and reconciliation. Now they're bringing those lessons to American students.
CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:
This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. The nation of Rwanda is marking 20 years since the genocide that claimed more than 800,000 lives. And decades after the killing, survivors on both sides are learning how to forgive and how to be forgiven. But it's a complicated, painful process for everyone involved.
FATUMA NDANGIZA: Much as we are doing reconciliation, we still have peace spoilers. People want to spoil peace. People are still die-hards. Some people who committed genocide - but up to now, they don't feel remorse for what they did.”
Continue reading or listening at NPR.