In Northern Cheyenne culture, there is a tradition of keeping the umbilical cord after it falls off. It represents the child’s connection to its mother and keeps them safe from harm. This short film follows a tale about the consequences of severing the bond created by the umbilical cord.
A United Nations Experience is a short documentary film created in The Representation Project’s 2020 Youth Media Academy. In 2014, a 16 year-old student attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues with her school, Ahahuacalmecac.
In this short documentary film, filmmaker Kalijah shares his grandmother, Beverly Bullchild’s story. Beverly grew up in foster care after losing her mother at an early age and shares her experience of feeling exploited for labor by her foster parents.
Ni Yankwik Xinachtli is a short documentary film created in The Representation Project’s 2020 Youth Media Academy. This film explores Indigenous generational knowledge on medicinal plants and alternative medicine and how the seed reflects the person and the prayer of the universe.
Every day Indigenous mothers, daughters, sisters, and children go missing at an alarming rate. This short film imagines the fear and anguish of having a loved one kidnapped.
Wana, who is very sick, realizes that she is not ready to leave her grandson Miliano, who did not learn to speak her language. On her deathbed, Aleja, the Curandera of the community, uses her sacred knowledge to ask the sacred winds for help. Wana will talk to the winds, guardians of the land to find the strength she needs to continue her legacy and provide a bridge between humans and the earth.
