Themester

Themester 2021 focuses on the theme of resilience. Several events explore Native and Indigenous issues. Themester 2021's first look at Indigenous cultures was the film Tanna, part of "Islands of Resilience," a program curated by Dr. David Stringer, of the Department of Second Language Studies, with support from IU Cinema, Themester, and the Asian Culture Center. Dr. Stringer is teaching Language Hotspots and Biodiversity, a course on the link between cultural diversity and biodiversity.

"Islands of Resilience" will continue with a film screening and discussion in October. Other talks, discussions, and films explore global and north american Indigenous cultures. See below for a list of these.

Film screening: Gather in IU Cinema’s Virtual Screening Room
Tuesday, September 14, 7:00 p.m.
online, registration required

Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political, and cultural identities through food sovereignty while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.

Picking Up the Threads of Our Knowledge: Revitalization of Myaamia “Miami Indian” Language and Culture
Thursday, September 23, 4:30 p.m.
IU Collections Teaching, Research, and Exhibition Center (historic McCalla building on Indiana Ave)

George Ironstrack, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Assistant Director of the Myaamia Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. will discuss the revitalization of Myaamiaataweenki, the Miami language.

Indigenous Resilience and Regeneration: Beyond the Global Pandemic
Wednesday, October 13, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
online, registration required

Join us for a discussion focusing on some of the positive aspects the pandemic has had on indigenous communities in Canada, India, and Kenya.

Vai at IU Cinema
Tuesday, October 19, 7:00 p.m.
online, registration required

Part of "Islands of Resilience," Vai is a visually stunning portmanteau involving nine female filmmakers, shot in seven different Pacific countries, and tells the story of one woman, played by eight actors, at eight different stages of her life. The distinct narratives of the film share emotional strands of displacement and diaspora but are woven together in a way which reaffirms indigenous resilience, female empowerment, and diverse storytelling.

Food for Thought: Native American and Indigenous Language Revitalization
Wednesday, October 20, 7:00 p.m.
online, registration required

The College's Office of Advancement hosts a livestream presentation and Q&A with Professor and Director of the American Indian Studies Research Institute Richard Henne-Ochoa.

A Conversation on Islands of Reslience: Voices Making Waves in IU Cinema's Virtual Screening Room
Thursday, October 21, 7:00 p.m.
online, registration required

In this virtual conversation, part of "Islands of Resilience," we will have an opportunity to hear two directors’ personal perspectives on making Vai, a beautiful and in many ways unique cinematic experiment. Considering the very different films in the  series—Tanna and Vai—we will reflect on the growing importance of indigenous voices in international film, cinema as a medium for female empowerment, and what such stories might reveal about issues of language, culture, gender, and identity.

Weaving as Cultural and Environmental Resilience
Monday, November 15, 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
online, registration required

Dr. Carolyn Smith and Dr. Emily Buhrow Rogers discuss cultural resilience in the face of environmental crises and using indigenous knowledge to bolster environmental resilience.

Film Screening: Je M'Appelle Humain (Call me Human) in IU Cinema’s Virtual Screening Room
Thursday, December 1, 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
online, registration required

When elders leave us, a link to the past vanishes along with them. Innu writer Joséphine Bacon exemplifies a generation that is bearing witness to a time that will soon have passed away. With charm and diplomacy, she leads a charge against the loss of a language, a culture, and its traditions.

Environmental Resilience Speaker Series: Keitlyn Alcantara
Wednesday, December 3, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
online, registration required

Alcantara’s research focuses on indigenous knowledge and connection to land, community foodways, and cultural resilience.

We wish to acknowledge and honor the myaamiaki, Lënape, Bodwéwadmik, and saawanwa people, on whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University Bloomington is built. For more information on First Nations at Indiana University, please see the First Nations Educational & Cultural Center.