From Goethe-Institut Chicago:

Indigenous peoples lived in the Chicago area for thousands of years before the arrival of European and American adventurers, explorers, missionaries, and colonists. Who were they, how did they live, and how did they respond to settler colonialism? Dr. John N. Low (Pokagon Band Potawatomi) will provide an Indigenous perspective on the invasion of the Great Lakes region.

Organized by Goethe-Institut Chicago in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Zoom registration here: https://goethe-institut.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KGjG4tWTRKKqmme4pRvkcg#/registration

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Join us for a book discussion about “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Registration Required: Call Sagawau at 630-257-2045.

For Earth Day Mini Film Fest (April 19 to 23) from One Earth Film Fest and the City of Chicago:

REMOTHERING THE LAND

Mark Decena/2022/10 min/People & Culures, Food & Agriculture

MIDWEST PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: This short film, a co-production with Patagonia Films, highlights traditional Indigenous farming practices as a source of resiliency for local communities, as well as solutions for the larger issues facing the planet.

FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD

Shirah Dedman/2019/60 min/People & Culture, Food & Agriculture

MIDWEST PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: “Follow the Drinking Gourd” is a feature documentary about the Black food justice movement. Family-friendly, funny and moving, this film connects the legacy of slavery, capitalism and climate change to our fight for food security.

Teens and young adults encouraged to attend.

Register for in person at Old St. Pat’s: https://drinkinggourdstpats.eventbrite.com

IN PERSON: Thursday, April 20, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT [Central]
Old St. Patrick's Church, 625 W. Adams
Community Room, St., Chicago
(entrance on DesPlaines)

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines, check in/register, and get best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue.

Parking is free in the parking garage attached to 625 W Adams (entrance on DesPlaines)  beginning at 6pm—guests will need to pull a ticket from the Old St. Pat's ticket machine and insert it in the Old St. Pat's ticket machine on the way out of the garage for the validation. 

Register for in person at UIC: https://drinkinggourduic.eventbrite.com

IN PERSON: Thursday, April 20, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT [Central]
UIC Lecture Center F6 (Building 604), 807 S. Morgan St., Chicago

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines, check in/register, get refreshments, and find best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue.

Register for virtual screening: https://drinkinggourd.eventbrite.com

VIRTUAL: Thursday, April 20, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT

Post-film discussion with Facilitator:

• Alejandro Bodipo, Memba, President & CEO, OVP Management Consulting Group, Inc.

Panelists:

• Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri, Film Subject, Remothering the Land, Indigeneity Program Manager, Bioneers

• William Smith, Film Subject, Remothering the Land

• Shirah Dedman, Director, Follow the Drinking Gourd

• Johari Cole-Kweli, Owner/Farmer, Iyabo Farms and member of Pembroke Farming Families Association

For Earth Day Mini Film Fest (April 19 to 23) from One Earth Film Fest and the City of Chicago:

Trip Jennings/2022/101 min/Climate Change, Conservation, Health & Environment

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: “Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire” takes viewers on a journey with the top experts in the nation to better understand fire. We follow the harrowing escape from Paradise as the town ignited from wind-driven embers and burned within a few hours of the fire’s start. We visit fire labs where researchers torch entire houses to learn why some homes burn and others survive. We learn from Native Americans as they employ fire to benefit nature and increase community safety as they have for thousands of years. We follow researchers who work to understand the effects of climate on forests and the crucial role that natural forests play in storing vast amounts of carbon. Along the way we listen to people who have survived the deadliest fires to underscore the importance of this quest.

“Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire” won Best Director, Best Editing, and Jury Award Best Documentary at the Golden Gate International Film Festival in 2022. At the Valley Film Festival, the film earned the 10° Hotter Award in 2022.

Film Director Trip Jennings has worked with National Geographic for over a decade. His films have won dozens of awards around the world and have aired on major networks on every continent.

Register in person at Thatcher Woods: https://elementalthatcher.eventbrite.com

IN PERSON: Wednesday, April 19, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, 8030 Chicago Ave., River Forest

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines, check in/register, and get best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue.

Register in person at Gorton Center: https://gortoncenter.org/event/elemental-reimagine-wildfire-part-of-the-one-earth-collective-2023-earth-day-mini-film-fest/

IN PERSON: Wednesday, April 19, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT
Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Rd. [Lake County]
John & Nancy Hughes Theater, Lake Forest

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines,
check in/register, purchase concessions, and get best seats.
ADA compliant accessible venue.

Register for virtual screening: https://elementalvirtual.eventbrite.com

VIRTUAL: Wednesday, April 19, 6:30 to 9 p.m. CDT

Post-film discussion with Facilitator:

• Cindy Klein-Banai, Experienced Sustainability Professional and Educator

Panelists:

• Ralph Bloemers, Executive Producer, Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire

• Trip Jennings, Director, Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire

• Richard F. O'Rourke III, Film Subject, Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire; indigenous fire practitioner and Fire Coordinator, Cultural Fire Management Council

• Vic Bogosian, Manager Department of Natural Resources, Pokégnek Bodéwadmik, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

In partnership with the American Indian Center of Chicago, celebrate Native American culture and enjoy traditional Powwow, native food, dancing, vendors, activities and more. Rain or shine. Information and pricing: aicchicago.org.

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

In partnership with the American Indian Center of Chicago, celebrate Native American culture and enjoy traditional Powwow, native food, dancing, vendors, activities and more. Rain or shine. Information and pricing: aicchicago.org.

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

In partnership with the American Indian Center of Chicago, celebrate Native American culture and enjoy traditional Powwow, native food, dancing, vendors, activities and more. Rain or shine. Information and pricing: aicchicago.org.

Clement Guerra and Sophie Guerra/2019/82 min/Energy, Social Justice, People

FILM DESCRIPTION: This award-winning documentary showcases a truly inclusive movement led by the most impacted. When so many of us feel isolated and helpless, "The Condor & The Eagle" brings us together in these times of crisis—reminds us of our deep interconnectedness with the Earth and one another. As world climate scientists predict unprecedented global catastrophe, “The Condor & The Eagle” features Indigenous women leaders deploying unparalleled global responses. Never-before-seen images expose the global rise of land and water protectors across the Americas.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-condor-and-the-eagle-watch-party-tickets-149080577019

Your free ticket will automatically enter you into a raffle drawing for a free, overnight test drive of a Tesla electric vehicle.

Esta película está disponible con subtítulos en español. Recibirá instrucciones en el correo de confirmación de Eventbrite antes del evento.

After the screening, stay connected to discuss the film with:

Discussion Facilitator: Doug Dixon, Principal, Sales Performance Solutions & Neighbor, OUR Community

Panelists:

Casey Camp-Horinek, Councilwoman, and Hereditary Drumkeeper of the Womens’ Scalp Dance Society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma; Activist, Environmentalist, Actress; Published Author

Yudith Azareth Nieto (appears in "The Condor and the Eagle"), Co-Founder, BanchaLenguas Language Justice Collective; Core leadership, Another Gulf is Possible Collaborative

Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Chicago

DISTRICT 15
Anjali Nayar and Senain Kheshgi/2020/23 min/Energy, Social Justice, Health

FILM DESCRIPTION: Sadly, the majority of Los Angeles industrial oil drilling activity takes place in communities of color and low-income communities. “District 15” highlights the hope and tenacity of the young activists of Wilmington, California, as they push the L.A. City Council to prohibit new and existing oil and gas drilling operations within 2,500 feet of homes, schools and hospitals. Communities for a Better Environment is behind this effort. The group does critical work on environmental justice and empowers Californian communities to stand up to polluting industries and build a green energy future.

RECLAMATION: THE RISE AT STANDING ROCK
Michele Noble/2018/23 min/Energy, Water, Social Justice, Health, People & Cultures

FILM DESCRIPTION: In 2016, Indigenous youth unite the Native Nations and rise up in spiritual solidarity against the Dakota Access Pipeline. These young Native Leaders honor their destiny by leading a peaceful movement of resistance which awakens the world.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-15-reclamation-the-rise-at-standing-rock-watch-party-tickets-138624777441

Both films will be preceded by the 3-minute film "Fighting for Environmental Justice: The Health Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border" by Ilan Jinich, winner of the Sally Stovall Award for Activism in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest.

Please stay for a post-film discussion with:

Facilitator Kyra Woods, Clean Energy Organizer + Ready for 100 Chicago Coordinator, Sierra Club

Panelists:

• Anjali Nayar, Director, District 15

• Michele Noble, Director, Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock

• Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Chicago

• Naomi Davis, Founder and President, Blacks in Green

Ann Kaneko/2020/82 min/Historical Perspectives, Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” provides a fresh interpretation of the Japanese American confinement site by examining the environmental and political history behind the World War II camp. Prior to the war, Manzanar was where Native Americans were driven out and farmers and ranchers were bought out by the L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP). By connecting this camp to California’s environmental history, this film shows the intersectionality of how Japanese Americans, Indigenous communities, and locals have been mistreated by government entities that have not served the interests of all of their citizenry.

The film exposes the legacy of colonization, racism, and social injustice at Manzanar. Manzanar has both the violent history of Native American colonial cleansing and the legacy of being a concentration camp for Japanese Americans who were similarly pushed away from the coast. This film aspires to bridge these communities and engage in important public discussion. Manzanar is a site of conscience that all of these communities can claim as their own.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/manzanar-diverted-when-water-becomes-dust-watch-party-tickets-138522910755

Please stay for a post-film discussion with:

Facilitator Susan Lucci, Founder of 2Big4Words and Co-Founder of Global Purpose Guides and FeelReal

Panelists:

• Ann Kaneko, Director, Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

• Monica Embrey, Member, Manzanar Committee; granddaughter of film subject Sue Embrey

• Kathy Jefferson Bancfort, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone)

Sanjay Rawal/2020/83 min/Food & Agriculture, Historical Perspectives, People & Cultures, Social Justice

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Gather” is an intimate portrait of the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. “Gather” follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an Indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gather-the-fight-to-revitalize-our-native-foodways-watch-party-tickets-138485843887

Please stay for post-film discussion with:

Facilitator Maddie Oatman, Senior Editor & Writer, Mother Jones Magazine; host and producer of Mother Jones' food politics podcast, "Bite"

Panelists:

• Danielle Hill, Founder, Heron-Hill LLC; appears in Gather

• Kayleigh Warren, Communications Coordinator, Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance