No-Thanks Giving

Following their last feature here, our Native (Ojibway) cohorts have been busy with many projects--including a bombshell for ITVS--and tonight's half-hour opener gives us a strong sense once again of their razor-sharp perspective. Their de-colonial discussion comes to focus on ex-Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf's rematriation of a sizable East Bay land parcel to the Sogorea Te Land Trust, serving as a springboard for a larger campaign for the return of most all Indigenous lands and cultural artifacts. In the program's second part, we bear witness to Matt Peterson/Malek Romamny's studied cine-essay on mass population displacement, with coverage of Mohawk and Dine resistance to Black Mesa relocation juxtaposed with footage of Palestinian refugee camps, environmental activists, and families of martyrs and political prisoners. The parallels between the Southwestern US footage and the Gaza material create a conversation about the critical importance of the meaning of homeland, and its conditions for life, community, and sovereignty. $10