New film – An Indigenous Response to #MeToo – is engaging conversation
starter to break silence, lean into culturally based solutions
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An Indigenous
Response to #MeToo is a new half-hour
Rematriation Magazine film featuring
a group of cultural change-makers from
Haudenosaunee Six Nations territories
and the Guachichil de La Gran Chi-
chimeca. The film’s purpose is to share a
culturally grounded and relevant response
to address the #MeToo movement in
indigenous communities, to start group
conversations and to lean into culturally
based solutions.
Recently, more than 70 indigenous peo-
ple from across Haudenosaunee territories
and communities around the world met for
the 2018 launch of Rematriation Magazine
– “Returning the Sacred to the Mother”
at the Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse
School of Public Communications.
Rematriation Magazine, an indig-
enous women’s online publication, will
include feature stories, videos, podcasts,
interactives and other multi-media offer-
ings focusing on topics important to
indigenous women.
During the meeting, the women and
men also discussed the #MeToo move-
ment and how it has differed in indigenous
communities across Turtle Island from the
mainstream. An Indigenous Response to
#MeToo was a result of this discussion.
“The #MeToo movement has taken the
country by storm and this is why I asked
a group of indigenous people to come
together to discuss what is – and what is
not – going on so that we can extend the
conversation into our communities and
take control of the narrative,” said Michelle
Schenandoah, CEO and editor-in-chief of
Rematriation Magazine. “We are not part
of the mainstream society; yet knowing
how pervasive sexual abuse is in our com-
munities, this film provides a backdrop to
explore this issue in our own way.”
“The mainstream trend has been
to outcast prominent men accused of
sexual harassment, but what does #MeToo
look like for indigenous people?” asked
Schenandoah. “There is no recourse for
both men and women in the mainstream
and there really hasn’t been much direction
beyond this point for the movement. As
indigenous people, we’ve been working
to address sexual abuse a lot longer than
in the mainstream.”
“This film is intended to start group
conversations within our indigenous
communities. We highlight examples of
women and men who’ve created change
by leaning into traditional teachings and
ceremonies – and the impacts have been
profound,” said Schenandoah. “Acceptance
of the mainstream does not have to be our
response; it’s not the healthiest option for
our communities and we have our culture
to help guide us.”
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“An Indigenous Response to #MeToo
makes an important, vital and timely
contribution to the conversation on sexual
and other forms of gender violence,” said
Hayley Marama Cavino, Ph.D. (Māori:
Ngāti Pūkenga/Ngāti Whitikaupeka),
professor of Native American and
Indigenous Studies at Syracuse University
(the film premiered on April 3 in Cavino’s
Indigenous Women’s Lives class at the
university).
“I was particularly struck by the
assertion that our communities have long
grappled with these issues, as well as how
proximate we are to them – a particularly
poignant moment in the film comes when
one of the participants points out that we
are talking about the behavior of fathers
and brothers and relatives,” said Cavino.
“One of our elders at home – Mere-
ana Pitman – says that when you violate
women and children you violate everyone,
including yourself, because of the ways
we are interconnected through genealogy,”
said Cavino. “Sexual violence is never –
for us – only about what happens to the
individual, but rather is an assault against
the blood – against our ancestors, our
children to come and all with whom we
are connected in present time and place.”
Rematriation Magazine sponsored
this film for free-of-charge viewing by
indigenous nations, organizations, health
care providers, educators, community
members and those interested in joining
the conversation. You can access An Indig-
enous Response to #MeToo on Vimeo. To
support similar projects, Rematriation is
accepting online contributions at rema-
triation.com/donate. The producers are
also available for community screenings
with discussions.
The film was produced by Indigenous
Concepts Consulting for Rematriation
Magazine. Executive Producer is Michelle
Schenandoah, co-producer is Neal Pow-
less and director is Katsitsionni Fox. The
film features an all-indigenous cast of
community leaders and includes music
by Joanne Shenandoah and The Women’s
Power Song written by the Akwesasne
Women Singers.
For more information about the film
or to book screenings with discussions
in your community, contact Schenandoah
at together@rematriation.com or 315-
925-7191.
Links
Video: vimeo.com/261177660 Pass-
word: Rematriation
How it has differed in indigenous
communities: medium.com/@Daazhraii/
whats-missing-from-metoo-and-timesup-
one-indigenous-woman-s-perspective-
14a8d9d8cecd
What #MeToo looks like for indige-
nous people: hmedium.com/athena-talks/
sherman-alexie-and-the-sexual-assault-
legacy-of-federal-native-american-board-
ing-schools-f460e796e241
We’ve been working on this a lot lon-
ger: impact.vice.com/en_us/article/evbeg7/
native-american-women-have-been-say-
ing-a-lot-more-than-metoo-for-years
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May 2018
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Siletz News
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