Thank you to our Multimedia Production Interns!
Bennington College students Cody Walker and Owen Gerber-Hatem have been serving as interns at Wisdom for their Field Work Term Project assignment this winter. They have been assisting in the development of video clips for Wisdom Workforce Development training program. Producing a set of 6 clips from each of 12 recordings, plus other supporting material, in only seven weeks is quite the feat! This is the fifth year that Wisdom has worked with Bennington College (Bennington, Vermont) interns.
We could not have produced this volume of work without their commitment and skills. Wisdom thanks Cody and Owen and wishes them the best in their future projects and college pathways!
Wisdom Workforce Development Internship Program
NOW RECRUITING for Wisdom Workforce Development Internship Program!
Wisdom Workforce Development will provide specialized environmental assessment and restoration workforce training, service learning in local natural areas, and a job pipeline to meaningful environmental career pathways.
Connecting with the world of nature while assessing and restoring public natural areas benefits Portland’s Native community members. This is a paid internship program for Native American adults age 18 and older. Interns will work 20 hours a week March through May.
Please contact Ciarra@wisdomoftheelders.org for more information, or visit https://www.wisdomoftheelders.org/wisdomworkforce/interns/
NEA Chair Jane Chu visits Wisdom of the Elders
Wisdom was honored on January 19 by hosting the site visit requested by National Endowment for the Arts chair Jane Chu. She was joined by Brian Rogers, Director of the Oregon Arts Council and Oregon Cultural Trust and other NEA Staff.
Wisdom’s Executive Director Rose High Bear sang an honor song to the group upon their arrival. Ciarra Greene (Nez Perce), Wisdom’s Workforce Curriculum Writer/Educator presented examples of our STEAM curriculum; and Daniel Dixon (Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee), Multimedia Production Coordinator screened a film clip of Wisdom’s climate documentary and a recording of a recent Northwest Indian Storytelling presentation.
Chair Chu also toured Highland Park STEM Middle School the nationally recognized school which uses Wisdom’s Discovering Yidong Xinag curriculum integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM). Last November, Highland Park’s Principal David Nieslanik received an “innOVATION STEAM Grant Award” from the Ovation Foundation, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and Americans for the Arts and we’re proud to be partnering with them. Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities.
Wisdom acknowledges climate journalist Terri Hansen
We are proud of Wisdom’s board of director member Terri Hansen. Several years ago, Terri made the decision to focus her journalism career on climate issues increasingly impacting Native American and Alaskan Native peoples.
She assisted Wisdom with our fourth Wisdom of the Elders Radio Series and is a climate science journalist for a number of national publications, including Indian Country Today!
Wisdom receives Humanitarian Awards for Climate and Native Wisdom documentary films
We received word on January 20 that Wisdom is the recipient of two awards from the staff of the Global Film Awards and the IndieFEST Film Awards. The IndieFEST Film Awards group firmly believe that film can make impactful changes globally and the Global Film Awards and the IndieFEST Humanitarian Awards are designed to give recognition to those illustrious filmmakers whose craft inspires audiences to make a difference!
The judges’ results for our 2015 Humanitarian Awards were communicated and Wisdom won not one but two Global Film Awards. We received an Award of Distinction for The Cutting Edge: Climate and The People of the Whale and an Award of Distinction for The Cutting Edge: Climate and The People of the Whale.
Rick Prickett with the IndieFEst Film Awards notified us that our productions were hand selected by their judges and staff as “a film that represents the spirit of humanitarianism from the entire pool of entries to the competition throughout 2015.”
He said, “We appreciate the extremely important work you are doing to raise awareness and shift global paradigms. We are truly grateful for your talented filmmaking and dedication and we honor YOU, as a filmmaker, for bringing awareness to the critical issues of our time.”
These productions will be available later this year to our colleagues and supporters. Please let us know if you would like to be put on the waiting list for them.
Wisdom would like to express appreciation to our gifted production team, led by Lawrence Johnson, our Alaskan Native elders who were recorded over several years, our board of directors who have approved production of this film series, and all the supporters and funders who have made our productions possible.
Climate and Native Wisdom: People of the Oregon Coast Documentary Series
This documentary series turns the lens on Native peoples of the Oregon coast. We will feature the voices and stories of Native scientists, traditional food gatherers and cultural leaders, formed by their long, close relationship to the land, its resources and sacred places. They are preserved in their ancestral knowledge and songs, faithfully passed down through the millennium.
We are seeking your support to match grant funding from National Endowment for the Arts so that we can produce this series of climate documentaries and radio programs. There are several ways you can help support production:
- Contributions can be made from our website wisdomoftheelders.org, Facebook page and the Indiegogo Generosity site www.bit.ly/WOTEclimate.
- You can network with friends, family, and colleagues by email or social media encouraging them to support our campaign.
- Guide colleagues by word of mouth to our sites including phoning Nico Wind at (503) 775-4014 or email nico@wisdomoftheelders.org.
We sincerely thank those of you who have generously contributed to this campaign and we invite you to continue to follow our progress.
Pinamaya (Thank you in Nakota),
Nico Wind and the Star Storming Team