Bellevue film festival focuses on American Indians

By Leslie Fulbright
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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American Indians, who for hundreds of years have fought to preserve their culture and languages, are becoming more and more visible in the arts. Through novels, journalism, lecture and film, they are telling their stories and keeping their tribes in the public eye.

The American Indian Film Festival next week at Bellevue Community College will highlight some of that work, in an effort to both teach and preserve.

One featured speaker is Charlotte Black Elk, the great-granddaughter of Nicholas Black Elk, a visionary and healer whose life story was the subject of John Neihardt's 1932 novel "Black Elk Speaks."

Charlotte Black Elk lives on a Lakota reservation near Manderson, S.D. She's an attorney as well as a specialist who integrates science and spirituality to verify Native American oral tradition.

"I take tribal stories and use science to verify they are correct, geologically and biologically," she said. "For instance, we know our God is God because we can verify our legends, which have dinosaurs and amoebas and everything else."

American Indian Film Festival Highlights of the American Indian Film Festival at Bellevue Community College, 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue: • Wednesday: Author Ian Frazier discusses his book "On the Rez" in the Library Media Center at 10:30 a.m. The film "Dances for the New Generation" will air at noon, followed by a discussion by producer Phil Lucas in the Carlson Theater and a performance by the American Indian Dance Theater. • May 6: Charlotte Black Elk will speak at 10 a.m. in Room N201; "Paha Sapa" will be shown at 12:30 p.m. in Room N201; "Pow Wow Highway" with a discussion by actor Gary Farmer in Room C120 will start at 2:30 p.m.; "Incident at Oglala" and "Thunderheart" will be shown at 7 p.m. in Room N201. • May 7: "Lakota Woman" will be shown at noon, followed by a talk with producer Hanay Geiogamah in the Carlson Theater. • An art exhibit in the Library Media Center Gallery Space will feature the work of Native American artists Gail Tremblay and John Feodorov.

Black Elk gives speeches around the world about the Lakota, a tribe with 14 reservations in the United States, the most land and the biggest population. She speaks Lakota fluently and is a strong proponent of knowing and living one's culture through teachings and ceremonies.

"The U.S. tried to break us all up and separate us, but we defeated them," said Black Elk, who will speak at 10 a.m. next Thursday. "We refused to back down and kept our traditions alive."

The festival was organized by BCC's Diversity Caucus. It will feature several talks by Phil Lucas, a Choctaw filmmaker and BCC professor who has worked on more than 100 films. He documents the American Indian experience in everything from feature films to documentaries.

There will be a showing of "Dances for the New Generation," a 1994 Emmy-nominated documentary, and a discussion with Lucas, who produced it.

Author Ian Frazier will discuss his book, "On the Rez."

And Producer Hanay Geiogamah, director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, will speak after a showing of "Lakota Woman."

The festival, in its second year, is free and open to the public. A $10 donation is suggested.

Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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