Greetings, Friends! And apologies for the long delay! There is so much to tell you about The Doctrine of Recovery!
First off, we have a gorgeous new website, which better reflects the film and its message. Please check it out–and consider hosting a screening in your community!
Second, and even more important, the film will premiere on July 5th at the 43rd Annual General Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, in Vancouver, BC. This is the first time in history that the AFN has premiered a film–it is that significant to them. They are giving it the red-carpet treatment in the main hall of the Vancouver Convention Center–a venue that can accommodate the 634 First Nation Chiefs, who represent approximately 900,000 First Nations people living in First Nation communities and in cities and towns across Canada.
Here’s what Chief RoseAnne Archibald, the first woman ever elected to the position of National Chief, says about The Doctrine of Recovery:
“The Doctrine of Recovery documentary is a crucial step on our healing path forward. Three generations of First Nations’ women speak to how the Doctrine of Discovery continues to loom over every aspect of our lives as Tribal people. Visually beautiful, it inspires without ever shying away from the impacts of genocide authored in the Papal Bull of 1493. The Doctrine of Recovery is a call to action for reparations and revoking the Doctrine of Discovery.”
Dene National Chief & AFN Regional Chief (Northwest Territories), Gerald Antoine, said this about The Doctrine of Recovery:
“A film of immense power and importance which communicates the undeniable devastation wrought by the Doctrine of Discovery and why the Pope must rescind it.”
(Regional Chief Antoine led the AFN Vatican delegation that received Pope Francis’s initial apology for the Church’s role in the Residential School atrocities, which were one of the genocidal consequences of the Doctrine of Discovery.)
As those of you who follow our posts and emails know, the film evolved from its original vision of a documentary about Native Americans and grizzlies, to a film about human beings’ relationship with Mother Earth. Our writer/director Brišind (RAIN) realized that, rather than working to save one endangered species after another, we must re-evaluate our relationship with our life-giver, the Earth. We must acknowledge the white supremacist roots of the “Doctrine of Discovery” that justified both the dispossession of Native Americans from their land and the decimation of those lands for colonizer use and “development.” We must return to a relationship of respect and care for the planet that sustains us.
And, in other news, our film’s DP and editor, Anthony Stengel, has been nominated for an Emmy for his PBS short film, “Dying Light,” about a neon artist, one of a dying breed. Congratulations, Anthony!