Guardians of the Waters
Native Youth Explore Cultural and Ecological Health
This video was collectively directed by the young Native participants of The Guardians of the Waters youth leadership internship, a program of The Cultural Conservancy. The poetic documentary explores eco-cultural health through submersion in Native water traditions—building tule boat canoes, carving paddles and encountering water spirituality—and through artists’ and scholars’ reflections on trauma, struggle and transformation.
The Guardians of the Waters youth internship steeps participants in traditional ecological, indigenous watercraft, and foodways knowledge. Native artists and scholars facilitate discussions, group processing, and audiovisual documenting of eco-cultural health, personal/collective identities, and traditional/new media.
Credits
Native Artists and Tribal Scholars
Diana Almendariz (Maidu/Wintun/Hupa/Yurok/Cherokee
Holly A. Calica (Pilipina/Ilocano/Pangasinan)
Ethan Castro (Wailaki)
Wikuki Kingi (Maori/Hawaiian)
L. Frank Manriquez (Tongva/Ajachmem/Raramuri)
Melissa K. Nelson (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
Anne Marie Sayers (Ohlone)
Kanyon Sayers (Ohlone, Chumash)
Kathy Wallace (Karuk/Yurok/Hupa)
Edward Willie (Pomo/Walaiki/Wintu)
Original Compositions
Bodhran and Tar Percussion - Colin Farish
Canyon Chumash Grandmother Song - Kanyon Sayers
Extra Pacific - Art Vandelay
Music and Sound Mixing
Art Vandelay
Music Recording
Sudhananda
Additional Sound Recording
Farida Jhabvala Romero, Radio Bilingüe
Water Animation and Slow-Motion Footage Courtesy of
ArtBeats
One Day on Earth
openfootage.net
Thank You
Jamie A. Beck
Heidi Coffer
Kaylena Bray
Ras K’dee
Monica Wadsworth Stafford
Naomi LeBeau
Gerardo Marin
A.S.I. Legal Resource Center, SFSU
Richard Oakes Multicultural Center, SFSU
Bangka Journey
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Video and Sound by Program Participants
Stay Aori (Kenyan/Kikuyu/Luhya)
Natalie Contreras (Purepecha/Tarahumara/Nahuatl)
Mateo Hinojosa (Bolivian-American)
Napaquetzalli Martinez (Yaqui/Apache/Purépecha/Xicana)
Kiva McGahan (German/Irish/Salvadorean/Apache/Calo/Mayan)
Valerie Perez Ordoñez (Mexican/Salvadorean)
Monserrat Rueda-Hernandez (Mexican-American)
Nícola Wagenberg (Colombian)
Media Director and Editor
Mateo Hinojosa
Project Director
Nícola Wagenberg
Program Facilitators
Mateo Hinojosa
Valerie Perez Ordoñez
Nícola Wagenberg
Special Thanks
Brock Dolman
Susannah Schroll
Sonoma Mountain Institute
Grover Stock
Lindsay Dailey
Peter Olson and Ilan Vitemberg
Levana Saxon
Melissa Elgin
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
Practicing Freedom
Supported in Part By
The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
The San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants Program through a Native American Arts & Cultural Traditions grant
The Christensen Fund
Kalliopeia Foundation