Submitted by the Friday Harbor Film Festival
Join us for a captivating evening of documentary films highlighting the vital relationship between Indigenous people and salmon, featuring award-winning and powerful stories of cultural and environmental stewardship. At the end of the films take part in a livestream Q&A. Director Shane Anderson has arranged for Kayeloni Scott, from the Nez Perce tribe, to represent Covenant of the Salmon People. Producer Noelani Auguston will discuss Our Sacred Obligation. This is a FREE event. No RSVP or tickets are required. Details are available at fhff.org.
Covenant of the Salmon People
Covenant of the Salmon People is is documentary portrait of the Nez Perce Tribe as they continue to carry out their ancient promise to protect Chinook salmon, cornerstone species and first food their people have subsisted on for tens of thousands of years. The Nez Perce is the oldest documented civilization in North America, with archaeological sites along Idaho’s Salmon River dating back 16,500 years. The basis of this civilization, and cornerstone of their creation story, is an ancient covenant with salmon. It is woven into their culture, history, and their species restoration work.
The tribe is facing the extinction of Chinook salmon, despite decades of recovery efforts, due to widespread construction of dams across tribal lands. The dammed river system and climate changes threaten the salmon’s existence. Tribal members continue to honor their relationship, protecting the basis of their ancestral diet. Their only option to save the salmon from extinction is the breaching of four dams on the lower Snake River. Will the Federal Government take charge of the situation or sit idly by while this iconic species vanishes?
Our Sacred Obligation
Our Sacred Obligation, directed by Jordan Riber, recounts the historic and now-threatened relationship between the Yurok Tribe and Klamath River salmon, as well as their leadership to protect it, recently leading to the decision to remove four dams on the Klamath River. The film recounts the history of the Yurok Tribe’s struggle against the colonization of the Klamath River, which has sustained them since time immemorial. A land reclamation project and a series of dams have brought the Klamath River salmon populations to the brink of extinction. But the Yurok are fighting back. Propped up by their ancestors, and the recent success of the Klallam Tribe on the Elwha River, the Yurok are using their sovereignty to fulfill their sacred obligation to bring the dams down and restore the river.
Best of the Fest Series
The final 2024 Best of the Fest film will be Common Ground. It explores how Americans from different walks of life, different political backgrounds, and different parts of the country share one thing in common – the very soil beneath their feet. It will begin at 7 pm at the San Juan Island Grange. This is a great “date night” activity.
2024 Friday Harbor Film Festival
Mark your calendar for the 12th annual festival — October 24-27 in-theatre and October 28- November 3 on-demand —to view this year’s selection of excellent feature documentaries, thematic blocks of short films, and Young Filmmakers’ Showcase entries. Plan now to attend!
To whet your appetite for excellent documentary filmmaking, dive deep into the rich legacy of the Friday Harbor Film Festival. revisit and discover the award-winning documentaries that FHFF has presented annually. Journey with us through the cinematic excellence in our festival’s storied history. View the programs from 2013 to 2023 at fhff.org/2023-program.
Thank you to SaviBank, Best of the Fest Presenting Sponsor, and Cascade PBS/KCTS9, Media Sponsor.
