For Immediate Release
Learn About Restoring Indigenous Food Sovereignty at November Event
LINCOLN, Neb. (Oct. 25, 2023) – A Tuesday, Nov. 7 screening and discussion event at The Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St., in Omaha will explore “Restoring Indigenous Food Sovereignty” as inspired by topics in Ken Burns’s new film “The American Buffalo.”
Presented by Nebraska Public Media in partnership with The Durham Museum and Vision Maker Media, the 6 p.m. event will spark conversations around rematriation – the restoration and revitalization of Indigenous foodways, lifeways and cultural knowledge.
Learn more about this growing movement through excerpts from the recent films “Homecoming” by Julianna Brannum (Commanche), a companion film to “The American Buffalo,” and “Seed Warriors,” which highlights the Pawnee Seed Preservation Society.
“Homecoming” follows Jason Baldes, an Eastern Shoshone and a member of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, as he leads historic transfers of Bison to Indigenous communities which will maintain their herds to supply a healthy food source and cultural touchstone for their tribal citizens. The film explores what living among the Bison once again means for Native people –today and for future generations.
“Seed Warriors,” directed by Rebekka Schlichting (Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), follows a group of seed keepers in their ancestral homelands of Nebraska as they seek to regain sovereignty over the food system. By reclaiming their sacred corn seeds, they work to return to the healthy, traditional lifeways of the Pawnee people.
While the event is free and open to the public, registration is required at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/engage.
Panelists include:
– Brandon Cobb (Cherokee Nation), Indigenous conservation specialist, The Nature Conservancy
– Suzi French (Umóⁿhoⁿ), farm-to-school director for the Umóⁿhoⁿ Nation Public School
– Dan O’Brien, featured in “The American Buffalo” and owner, Wild Idea Buffalo Ranch and author of “Great Plains Bison”
– Rebekka Schlichting (Ioway Tribe of Kansas & Nebraska), assistant professor at the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, owner of Native Storytelling Nation and director of “Seed Warriors”
– Renée Sans Souci (Umoⁿhoⁿ), Indigenous educator, artist and activist (moderator)
The event will also feature clips from “The American Buffalo,” which tells the dramatic story of how America’s national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions and sustaining the Native people of the Great Plains for untold generations, was driven to the brink of extinction. But then an unlikely collection of people rescues it from disappearing forever. Ken Burns recounts the tragic collision of two opposing views of the natural world – and the unforgettable characters who pointed the nation in a different direction. To learn more about the “The American Buffalo,” visit PBS.org/americanbuffalo.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACTS: Sandi Karstens, 402-470-6578
About Nebraska Public Media
Nebraska Public Media has connected citizens with news, sports, education and entertainment since 1954. Providing global and compelling stories from PBS and NPR, the statewide public media network also produces award-winning local content. Its programs and services reach Nebraskans on television, radio, online, social media and mobile apps. Visit NebraskaPublicMedia.org for more information.
