|
Sky Hopinka’s two-channel film is a cycle centered on the narrative of the Island Weights—oneof the Ho-Chunk creation stories about four individual water spirits sent to the cardinal points ofthe Earth to keep it from spinning out chaotically. Originating in what is now Wisconsin, the Ho-
Chunk nation—which translates to “People of the Big Voice”—spans from Red Banks to Trempealeau and across the pines and the waterways from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. Broken into five parts—wijirawaséwe (the Island Weights), yoiréreginarere (the west one), rek’úhuhíra (the south one), hą́boguominàgara (the eastern one), siniwagúreginągere (the north one)—the film accompanies an individual narrating their journey along these boundaries of Ho-Chunk homelands in search of the worn and weary Weights. Images take viewers from the churning waters of the Mississippi River into serene forests, over still lakes, through vast shopping malls, along earthen effigy mounds, and the platformed remnants of Cahokian society. The narrator is attempting not simply to meet the Weights, but to restore the tired beings who have kept this world in place. - Lucia Momoh for Prospect.5 |
|
Sing The Water Song
|
This song was written by Irene Wawatie Jerome for Grandfather William Commanda's 2002 Circle of All Nations gathering. It is recorded with permission from the Wawatie and Commanda families and the Circle of All Nations Foundation and the Elders in Canada.
This Algonquin Water Song expresses loving gratitude for the water and raises the consciousness and connection of women with Mother Nature’s greatest gift. The song is easy to learn, and our hope is that millions of women will sing it, raising their own connection and awareness of the water they interact with daily even in the shower or at the sink. Sing it 4 times, facing each of the 4 Directions. We believe this is a powerful step to change, leading to both a spiritual as well as environmental shift on our planet.
|
|
The Earth is our Mother
|
Wisdom from Kumu Sabra Kauka - Hawai’ian Elder
“The Earth is our Mother.
The Earth feeds us. The Earth is our Island. As a whole people, entire humanity we have one Earth.” |
|
|
Peaceful forests...
|
LES INDES GALANTES
(Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 – 1764) Forêts paisibles (Les Indes galantes) - Classic with Crank! Peaceful forests Never may a vain desire trouble here our hearts. If they are sensitive, Fortune, it is not at the price of your favors. In our retreats, Greatness, never come to offer your false attractions! Heaven, you have made them For innocence and for peace. Peaceful forests… Let’s enjoy our refuges, Let’s enjoy peaceful things. Ah! Can one be happy When one has other wishes? Peaceful forests… |
|
|
When you're lost in the rain
Video by Sky Hopinka
In this video, drawing from Bob Dylan's song "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," layers of experiences circling loss and longing are overlaid between images of landscapes and movement. In the song by Dylan, a stranger's listlessness and exhaustion are woven through and around Juarez, Mexico, and so too in this video are these stories woven around colonial discontent and uncertainty as they move through an uneasy negotiation with the strangeness of the American pioneer spirit.
Commissioned by Brianna Matzke for The Response Project |
|
|
Water is Life
Water is life. Give thanks to the spirit of the snow, the rains, the rivers and lakes. For water holds all of life. |
|
Wisdom Weavers of the World
|
Produced by Academy and Emmy Award Winning Producer, Jeffrey D Brown - Medicine Wheel Films. Filmed and Edited by Daniel "El Suchi" Garcia with support from extended film crew.
Thirteen Indigenous Elders from around the world come together to co-create a message for humankind, weaving wisdom of diverse cultures and lifeways, uncovering one common thread: for humanity to survive, we must shift our consciousness from the mind to the heart.
|
|