Learning through film (fwd)

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Learning through film

Tulalip filmmaking students tell tribal stories

By Jasa Santos
Herald Writer
http://heraldnet.com/article/20070821/NEWS01/108210038/-1/news01

There's a story in Tulalip culture about a young girl making her first cedar
basket. The story tells how the cedar tree has her remake the basket four
times, until finally the boughs are woven tightly enough for the basket to
hold water.

That story is being brought to life by participants in the Tulalip
Filmmaking Institute. The film will be shown at the 2nd Annual Tulalip Film
Festival on Friday.

The film was shot entirely in Lushootseed, the native language, but has
English subtitles.

The script was created by experienced filmmakers for participants to follow
as they learned the ins and outs of editing film and audio.

Film and audio clips for the story were pre-recorded for participants,
making the focus on arranging the material to tell the story as they
envisioned it.

Even still, the process of creating a film challenged the people going
through the institute.

"Oh, my brain hurts," Ginny Ramos said of what she'd learned in the class.

Ramos works for the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club. She took the workshop to
educate herself on film, something she can use with the multimedia club at
the Boys & Girls Club.

Having Tulalip youth involved in positive projects, such as the multimedia
club, keeps them off the streets and out of trouble, Ramos said.

Participants were split into two groups, each responsible for creating its
own version of the story. Each group considered each idea for choosing a
clip or arranging film sequences.

Charles Sneatlum took time off from his job at the Tulalip Casino to attend
the workshop. Sneatlum learned about the class last year, but didn't sign
up in time to take it. His interest in learning about filmmaking is
personal, he said.

"I want to make a documentary on fishing rights," he said.

Sneatlum already has DVD recordings of his father talking about the Tulalip
tribes and their history. Preserving the history and the language of his
people is important, Sneatlum said.

Robin Carneen, coordinator for the institute, said that storytelling is
second nature in the American Indian culture. Though participants weren't
experienced using film editing software, they had little trouble in making
their films.

"We teach through storytelling," Carneen said. "If we don't preserve these
stories they're going to be lost forever."

There are two benefits to sharing American Indian culture with the general
public, Careen said. One, it gives American Indians an opportunity to show
their people through their own eyes. Two, it reeducates the public about
the culture and people.

"It's been too much John Wayne, and not enough 'Smoke Signals,'" Carneen
said, referring to the 1998 movie written by Spokane/Coeur d'Aelene Indian
author Sherman Alexie.

Movies such as "Smoke Signals" really opened a door for American Indian
artists, she said. Films now have bravado in telling the truth about
everything from alcoholism to traditional culture, Carneen continued.

Holding workshops such as Tulalip's gets Carneen excited about the future of
American Indian storytellers.

"We really need to light a passion inside of them," she said. "There's just
not enough of us out there."

Reporter Jasa Santos: 425-339-3465 or jsantos at heraldnet.com