FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING
7:30PM SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28
CURVE LAKE POW WOW GROUNDS
Whetung St. East, Curve Lake First Nation
(Busses running throughout the day from Trent University)
Singing Back the Buffalo | Directed by Dr. Tasha Hubbard | Canada, 2024, 98 min
In a time of immense environmental degradation and global uncertainty, the buffalo can lead us to a better tomorrow. After a dark recent history, the buffalo herds of North America are awaiting their return, aided by dedicated Indigenous activists, leaders and communities, including award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard (nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up). Together with Blackfoot Elder Leroy Little Bear, Hubbard weaves an intimate story of humanity’s connections to buffalo and eloquently reveals how their return to the Great Plains can indeed usher in a new era of sustainability and balance.
On her journey, Hubbard explores the challenges faced by buffalo allies and shares the positive steps already taken towards the ultimate – but uncertain – goal of buffalo rematriation. Richly visualised and deeply uplifting, Singing Back the Buffalo is an epic reimagining of North America through the lens of buffalo consciousness and a potent dream of what is within our grasp.
To register and for more information on attending the Wild Rice Festival and this free screening, please visit:
“Feel the vibrations from the millions of hooves, see the immense clouds of dust in the air on your skin, witness the Buffalo move through their territory. This is being dreamed about by Indigenous peoples across North America. Our relative, the buffalo, deserves an epic. Singing Back the Buffalo combines my academic work with my search to tell compelling Indigenous stories in a visual and connective way.
It follows key themes: Buffalo Kinship, Genocide, Confinement, Women and Buffalo, and finally, Return, or Rematriating, the Buffalo to the lands. These form the framework for what I wished to be a layered and interwoven film. I wanted to tell both the history of Buffalo and Indigenous people from our perspective, as well as the future vision we have for our collective return to living in balance with the land.”
Director’s Statement Dr. Tasha Hubbard Director & Producer
THIS EVENT IS A PART OF MNOOMINKEWIN WILD RICE FESTIVAL
Organizers and guests of this incredible community festival would benefit greatly from having access to the Curve Lake Community Centre, just up the road from the Pow Wow Grounds. The building would provide accessible washrooms, an indoor rest area, facilities for prepping and washing up from the meals provided as part of the free day of events, and an indoor space in case of rain.
Unfortunately, the cost of renting the Curve Lake Community Centre is not in the budget without your support. A small donation can make a huge difference for the festival!
Charitable tax receipts are available through ReFrame Film Festival. Be sure to select “Mnoominkewin Community Centre Support” in the “Fund” dropdown menu.