BLOOD MEMORY
Sunday, July 28, 4PM
ARIZONA THEATRICAL PREMIERE
HARKINS THEATRES FLAGSTAFF 16
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH VISION MAKER MEDIA
BLOOD MEMORY
Documentary, USA, 2019, 1hr 47min
Producers: Elizabeth Day (Ojibwe), Drew Nicholas, Megan Whitmer
Executive Producer: Shirley K. Sneve (Rosebud Sioux)
Director: Drew Nicholas
Cinematographers: Bryan Heller, Doug Michaels, Drew Nicholas, Benedict Baldauff (Osage)
Editor: Jason Elrod
POST SCREENING CONVERSATION:
The screening of Blood Memory will be followed by a conversation with the following special guests:
Read more about Drew in our Filmmakers section here.
CAROLYN DOYLE MATTER (White Mountain Apache).
Carolyn Doyle Matter is a parent educator at Native Health in Phoenix, AZ. She was adopted at birth and raised in South Florida. She regained her biological family and is an enrolled member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Her passion is exploring First Nations adoptee issues and she moderates the Turquoise Moccasins Talking Circle at Native Health for adoptees and their families.
CELESTE SMITH (Diné)
Celeste works as a Senior Social Worker for the Navajo Children and Family Services. Celeste has worked with the Navajo Nation’s Indian Child Welfare Act Unit for the past 7 years. Celeste states, “After a difficult journey in state court proceedings, the best gift is seeing our children reunite with their families.”
CRESCENTIA TSO (Diné)
Crescentia works as a Principal Social Worker for the Navajo Children and Family Services. Crescentia has worked for the Navajo Nation’s Indian Child Welfare Act Unit for the past 2 years. Crescentia obtained her Bachelor of Social Work from Northern Arizona University in 2007 and her Master of Social Work from Arizona State University in 2010.
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival • Official Selection
Black Hills Film Festival • Official Selection
RISE Reconciliation Film Festival • Official Selection
Battles over blood quantum and “best interests” resurface in the untold history of America’s Indian Adoption Era – a time when nearly one-third of children were removed from tribal communities nationwide. Sandy White Hawk was 18 months old when she was taken from her Sicangu Lakota relatives to live with a Christian missionary, where her skin color and cultural heritage were rejected. Reconnection with her Lakota community empowered Sandy to help other Adoption Era survivors restore their cultural identity. Then there’s Mark Fiddler, a private adoption attorney and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Mark was catapulted to national recognition for his involvement in the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court case, Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, which challenged the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a law passed to keep Indian children in Indian homes when possible. Despite being a former proponent of the Act, Mark now finds himself positioned to strike ICWA from the books. In this struggle for the future of tribal child welfare, Mark puts heritage on trial as Sandy helps organize the first annual Welcome Home Ceremony for adopted and foster relatives of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
Red Screen Film Festival tickets are free. Please note that when you reserve a ticket, it does not guarantee a seat so our advice it to arrive a little early. Seats will be allocated to ticket holders on a first-come, first served basis. It's not necessary to get a ticket but note that non ticket holders will be seated after ticket holders.