2. “Unconquering the Last Frontier” Film Restoration and Re-Make
“Unconquering the Last Frontier” is the epic story of the damming and undamming of the Elwha River. Washington’s Elwha was known to produce the largest salmon in the lower 48. The Elwha Kings, or Chinook salmon weighed in at up to 100 lbs. This legendary river was dammed in 1908 and 1926, in one of the first examples of non-local capital arriving into frontier environmens for industrial development.
The Lower Elwha Klallam Indians made this river their home. It provided the basis for their sustenance and well being, food sources and spiritual sites. The salmon could not pass upstream of the dams and were destroyed in mass die-offs.
After their ranks had been decimated by smallpox and other European diseases, the Indian people were persecuted by the arriving settlers. They were forced to abide by laws that were unfair, even genocidal to them, such as being forbidden to fish in their usual and accustomed grounds. If an Indian were to be caught fishing, they could be taken to jail.
In 1993, Documentary Filmmaker Robert Lundahl embarked on a decade-long journey, to tell the story of the Lower Elwha people and the river which had sustained them. His film, released in 2000 to theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the Northwest, is the only film to address the historic trauma perpetrated on the Native people.
Re-birth of a Cinematic Masterpiece
RL | A and Robert Lundahl, in collaboration with The Long House Association, a Native American 501(c)3, have committed to restoring the original film, shot on 16 mm negative, to the contemporary 4K video format for theatrical release. Audio will be remixed and new music created, contemporary interviews filmed and intercut.
Audio field recordings collected on a Nagra IV S-TC will be transferred to digital files and indexed.
This rich trove of Native oral histories, historical accounts from Ph.D. researchers and experts, townspeople and first hand witnesses to historical events from the early years of the 20th century, nature sounds and ambient environments from the forests and rivers of the Northwest, will be preserved and made available for use by museums and other organizations, institutions, and individuals.
In 2012, the dams on the Elwha were removed
in the largest dam removal and ecosystem restoration project in the world. The meaning of these events, leading to the reintroduction of the Klallam to their cultural landscape and heritage, and to the opportunity for us all to study, contemplate, and witness a once fecund ecosystem – home to wolves, bear, cougar and a wide variety of species, returning to the sacred, cannot be underestimated.
In the era of a world adapting to climate change we are being invited to come to a new understanding of the planet and ourselves.
As Senator Bill Bradley stated:
” …when the salmon return, when the dippers and the herons and beavers and bears crowd the banks, when the life of the ocean and the mountains are joined again, when justice is done for Native people, you will have here something that moves and inspires people thousands of miles and continents away from here. It will be compelling, empirical proof of the health and practical genius of our own democracy.
This will be the place where our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren can see the life of the planet restored.
They will see the tangible power and great beauty of what you have achieved.
We are restoring honor. We are keeping promises. We are doing the right thing.
Your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren-they will be proud of you.
It will be the great gift of the Elwha – Hope.”
Be an agent of change. Push the PayPal button.
1. “Perjury Paradise, an Indictment of Family Law in America”
explores manipulation of the courts, and a tendency toward perversion of justice in family law, due to a reticence or inability to provide due process with regard to perjury.
Presented By RL | A, Mothers Without Custody and other groups.
IN PRODUCTION. FOR RELEASE 2015.
Holes in the Hall of Justice?
Our work includes production of “Perjury Paradise: An Indictment of Family Law in America”, a documentary film, and a Media Outreach Campaign via social media and other methods, along with outreach to lawmakers, press, and public policy influencers. Payments are received via a secure PayPal server and are tax deductible through our fiscal sponsor From the Heart Productions.
Be an agent of change. Push the PayPal button.
DONATE TO: PERJURY PARADISE
(WHO ARE MY PEOPLE? FILM SERIES)
2. “Unconquering the Last Frontier” Film Restoration and Re-Make
“Unconquering the Last Frontier” is the epic story of the damming and undamming of the Elwha River. Washington’s Elwha was known to produce the largest salmon in the lower 48. The Elwha Kings, or Chinook salmon weighed in at up to 100 lbs. This legendary river was dammed in 1908 and 1926, in one of the first examples of non-local capital arriving into frontier environmens for industrial development.
The Lower Elwha Klallam Indians made this river their home. It provided the basis for their sustenance and well being, food sources and spiritual sites. The salmon could not pass upstream of the dams and were destroyed in mass die-offs.
After their ranks had been decimated by smallpox and other European diseases, the Indian people were persecuted by the arriving settlers. They were forced to abide by laws that were unfair, even genocidal to them, such as being forbidden to fish in their usual and accustomed grounds. If an Indian were to be caught fishing, they could be taken to jail.
In 1993, Documentary Filmmaker Robert Lundahl embarked on a decade-long journey, to tell the story of the Lower Elwha people and the river which had sustained them. His film, released in 2000 to theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the Northwest, is the only film to address the historic trauma perpetrated on the Native people.
Re-birth of a Cinematic Masterpiece
RL | A and Robert Lundahl, in collaboration with The Long House Association, a Native American 501(c)3, have committed to restoring the original film, shot on 16 mm negative, to the contemporary 4K video format for theatrical release. Audio will be remixed and new music created, contemporary interviews filmed and intercut.
Audio field recordings collected on a Nagra IV S-TC will be transferred to digital files and indexed.
This rich trove of Native oral histories, historical accounts from Ph.D. researchers and experts, townspeople and first hand witnesses to historical events from the early years of the 20th century, nature sounds and ambient environments from the forests and rivers of the Northwest, will be preserved and made available for use by museums and other organizations, institutions, and individuals.
In 2012, the dams on the Elwha were removed
in the largest dam removal and ecosystem restoration project in the world. The meaning of these events, leading to the reintroduction of the Klallam to their cultural landscape and heritage, and to the opportunity for us all to study, contemplate, and witness a once fecund ecosystem – home to wolves, bear, cougar and a wide variety of species, returning to the sacred, cannot be underestimated.
In the era of a world adapting to climate change we are being invited to come to a new understanding of the planet and ourselves.
As Senator Bill Bradley stated:
” …when the salmon return, when the dippers and the herons and beavers and bears crowd the banks, when the life of the ocean and the mountains are joined again, when justice is done for Native people, you will have here something that moves and inspires people thousands of miles and continents away from here. It will be compelling, empirical proof of the health and practical genius of our own democracy.
This will be the place where our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren can see the life of the planet restored.
They will see the tangible power and great beauty of what you have achieved.
We are restoring honor. We are keeping promises. We are doing the right thing.
Your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren-they will be proud of you.
It will be the great gift of the Elwha – Hope.”
Be an agent of change. Push the PayPal button.
DONATE TO: the Restoration of “Unconquering the Last Frontier”
(WHO ARE MY PEOPLE? FILM SERIES)
About the Who Are My People? Film Series
British media theorist Hugo de Burgh (2000) states that: “An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession it is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available.”
This guiding statement in support of accountability and ethics in our communities comprises the scope of topical interest for the Who Are My People? Film Series.
The four core principles of the Who Are My People? Film Series are:
Respect for Persons
Concern for Welfare
Concern for Justice
Respect for Community
Completed Films:
“PayDirt” investigates the collapse of the housing market in 2009, focusing on housing developments that were underbuilt, over appraised, and over sold.
“Who Are My People?” delves into the development of the Mojave Desert for energy production, its impacts on biodiversity, culture and history. Visit http://whoaremypeople.com
Screening in impacted communities across the West. With generous support from The Protect Our Communities Foundation, The Rex Foundation, The Morongo Basin Conservation Association, Friends of Searchlight Deserts and Mountains, businesses and individuals.
“Unconquering the Last Frontier” highlights the history of the Lower Elwha Klallam people living in the shadow of hydropower development. Public television.
“Song on the Water” explores the philosophical framework of Coast Salish Peoples and was created in conjunction with The Longhouse Association in response to incidents of racism in remote Northwest communities.” Public television.
DONATE TO: the Restoration of “Unconquering the Last Frontier”
(WHO ARE MY PEOPLE? FILM SERIES)
About the Who Are My People? Film Series
British media theorist Hugo de Burgh (2000) states that: “An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession it is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available.”
This guiding statement in support of accountability and ethics in our communities comprises the scope of topical interest for the Who Are My People? Film Series.
The four core principles of the Who Are My People? Film Series are:
Respect for Persons
Concern for Welfare
Concern for Justice
Respect for Community
Completed Films:
“PayDirt” investigates the collapse of the housing market in 2009, focusing on housing developments that were underbuilt, over appraised, and over sold.
“Who Are My People?” delves into the development of the Mojave Desert for energy production, its impacts on biodiversity, culture and history. Visit http://whoaremypeople.com
Screening in impacted communities across the West. With generous support from The Protect Our Communities Foundation, The Rex Foundation, The Morongo Basin Conservation Association, Friends of Searchlight Deserts and Mountains, businesses and individuals.
“Unconquering the Last Frontier” highlights the history of the Lower Elwha Klallam people living in the shadow of hydropower development. Public television.
“Song on the Water” explores the philosophical framework of Coast Salish Peoples and was created in conjunction with The Longhouse Association in response to incidents of racism in remote Northwest communities.” Public television.
