The Wayfinders Film Series: Indigenous Wisdom Leading in the Climate Crisis

This powerful collection of short documentaries brings audiences closer to Indigenous communities worldwide, showcasing their leadership in sustaining our planet during a time of global climate change.

From the lush forests of Borneo to the ancient territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy to the biodiverse Northern Territory in Australia, witness the inspiring stories of Indigenous guardianship and self-governance, as communities work to preserve rich ecosystems, ensure food and water security, and protect cultural diversity for future generations through preservation of language, sacred sites, spirituality and the passing of traditional knowledge.

After the screening, join filmmakers and key players in a moderated talkback.

This program is hosted in collaboration with the Wayfinders Circle.

Films

Indai Apai Darah (Mother, Father, Blood)
Directed by Kynan Tegar
Dayak Iban, Indonesia | 2024 | 16 min
New York Premiere

Throughout the island of Borneo, an explosion of palm oil plantations has led to mass deforestation and forced many Indigenous peoples to allow logging of their sacred forests in exchange for immediate profits. However, in the Indonesian village of Sungai Utik, elders of the Dayak Iban people have been able to repel these extractive companies and protect the surrounding forests.

This short documentary, written and directed by 18-year-old Sungai Utik filmmaker Kynan Tegar, follows a young girl who makes a magical discovery while out in the woods and learns of the brave deeds of her elders. Indai Apai Darah is a love letter to the trees, rivers, and birds that surround Kynan's village, as well as to the aging leaders who were able to safeguard their livelihoods. As Sungai Utik elder Apai Janggut says in the film, “The Earth is our mother, the forest is our father, and the river is our blood.”

Indai Apai Darah has premiered at Mountain Film (May 2024), is a finalist for the Jackson Wild Media award, and is screening at Blackstar Film Festival (August 2024).

Niitsitapi (The Real People)
Directed by Bryan Gunnar Cole
USA | 2024 | 14 min
World Premiere

Niitstitapi (The Real People) traces the North American continental divide, marking the beginning of the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, an ancient alliance of Blackfoot people who, along with the buffalo, have always inhabited a vast area of mountains, rivers, lakes, and short grass prairie that stretches from the Rocky Mountains into the Great Plains.

Today, the Blackfoot Confederacy is comprised of the Sitsika Nation, Kainai Nation, and Piikani Nation in Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in the U.S. Despite being forced onto reserves and compelled to assimilate in bleak residential schools during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Niitstitapi from these Blackfoot Confederacy communities all share the same language and culture and cooperate to protect and preserve their land and way of life. Through the eyes of members of each of the four bands, Niitstitapi explores themes of cultural revival and permanence and how those values are practiced in daily life.

Ngarrindurdeng Kured (We Going Home Now)
Directed by Emma Masters
Australia | 2024 |18 min
World Premiere

Kuwarddewardde—the Rock Country—is home to the Binninj Newarddeken, People of the Rock Country who have always inhabited this remote corner of what is known today as Northern Territory, Australia. For millennia, the Binninj Newarddeken looked after the Rock Country and took care of it for their ancestors and their children, especially when it came to fire. Binninj Newarddeken clans actively burned areas in the savannahs, grasslands, and rainforests to protect from large, devastating wildfires. But, beginning in the late 18th century, colonialization by the British disrupted the Binninj Newarddeken’s connection to the land and ended their traditional use of fire. The result was the spread of massive wildfires decimating areas of this pristine ecosystem. Dean Yibarbuk, chairman of Warddeken Land Management, a First Nation’s owned non-profit and knowledge keeper of Binninj Newarddeken, lays it plain: “Without people, those wildfires took place. It’s a lonely country waiting for people to return.”