A new documentary about the Penobscot Nation is available to watch for free online, and Sunlight Media Collective encourages public screenings. This River is Our Relative is a new Sunlight Media Collective documentary about the Penobscot Nation’s intrinsic kinship connection to and tireless environmental advocacy for the Penobscot River. The story is told through the voices of 24 Penobscot people, who share their experience of historical, physical, and spiritual connection to place and of cultural identity and survival. Their narratives are interwoven with a traditional Wabanaki story about how The People and Glouskap defeated a greedy monster frog, Aklebemu, who was hoarding all the water. This story parallels both historical and present day environmental concerns and is also the origin story of the Penobscot family Clans.
Chef Sean Sherman knows how to create wonderful dishes filled with great tastes that dance on the tongue. He also serves up the bitter truth when talking about the terrible treatment that Indigenous peoples of the Americas have received ever since the colonization of this part of the world — that includes what is today South Dakota. He presented the 2023 Vermillion Earth Days keynote lecture titled “The (R)evolution of Indigenous Foodways” in the university’s Farber Hall. Following his keynote speech, Sherman hosted a book signing event of his book “The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen.”
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.