Indigenous Film Night, Sept 13 in NYC

Film night to celebrate indigenous peoples’ cultures and identities in cities

On 13 September, the United Nations will open the doors to an indigenous film night, paying tribute to the many indigenous peoples, living and sustaining their cultures in the world’s biggest cities far from their ancestral homes. Through Reaghan Tarbell’s documentary “To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey” (2009), we will meet the courageous Mohawk women who sustained a vibrant community in Brooklyn, while Mohawk workers were helping build Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers in the 1920s to 1960s.

Decades later, the short film “Bronx Llaktamanta” (2016) tells the story of Segundo Angamarcka, a Kichwa Kanari from Ecuador, who runs founded a radio station two blocks from Yankee Stadium to ensure the survival of Kichwa language and culture in New York. The screenings will be followed by a discussion about indigenous peoples’ identity, cultural survival and contributions to the world’s cities today.

The event takes place on the day of the ninth commemoration of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly in 2007. The adoption of the Declaration was a historic event which marked the beginning of a new partnership between indigenous peoples and Member States, who worked side by side to draft and negotiate the text.

The UN Declaration defines the minimum standards necessary for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples around the world. It reflects global consensus on the rights of indigenous peoples, including their rights to self-determination, lands, territories, resources, education, culture and health.

Despite progress, indigenous peoples remain among the poorest in all regions of the world; they lack access to education, health and decent employment and often experience displacement from their lands and territories. Indigenous peoples everywhere continue to face discrimination, marginalization and exclusion, while their cultures, identities and existence are under threat.

EVENT DETAILS

Tuesday, 13 September 2016
6:15 – 8:00 pm, Conference Room 4
United Nations Headquarters, New York

Programme:

Film screening “To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey” and “Bronx Llaktamanta”

Post-screening Q&A with:
Reaghan Tarbell, film maker, director of “To Brooklyn and Back” (Mohawk, Canada)
Doris Loayza, cultural producer, educator, producer of “Bronx Llaktamanta” (Quechua, Peru)
Segundo Angamarca, founder of Radio Tambo Stereo (Kichwa Kanari, Ecuador)

To register for the event, please RSVP here.

The event is organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information and the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Division for Social Policy and Development, UN DESA.

Photo credits: Mushkeg Media, Inc., Doris Loayza

For more information:

Film screenings: “To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey” & “Bronx Llaktamanta”

UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development – Indigenous Peoples