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Page 7
A picture speaks a thousand words and video can say even more.
That's the thought that prompted members of the Peigan Nation in Brocket and Siskisa Nation in Gleichen to take advantage of the rare opportunity to film footage, virtually for free, in their very own backyards.
"Technology is getting smaller and better," said Jim Goertz, production manager of Em/Media, a multi-media non-profit society based in Calgary.
Em/Media decided to take its technology and a producer out to these two First Nations to allow them to produce three videos in each community.
"Artists were coming from all over to use our facilities and equipment," said Goertz.
"We recognized the need to get out there. A lot of producers can't abandon their day jobs to come to our studio," explained Goertz.
Goertz came up with the concept of taking the technology out of the studio a few years ago. With funding from the Alberta Foundation for Arts and Canada Council, Em/Media was able to purchase the necessary equipment.
Sheryl Kootenhayoo was brought on board as producer. Her contacts with the First Nations, brought the Siksika and Peigan Nations on line as well as the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge.
Kootenhayoo worked in the field to help shoot the videos.
One of the videos promotes a cross-cultural camp held along the Oldman River. The video's value is unquestionable, said Reg Crowshoe, director at the Oldman River Cultural Centre on the Peigan Nation.
"To see that our classroom is a tipi, that our lodgings are a tipi, that our meals are in a tipi village, trying to get the idea across talking about it is kind of hard," said Crowshoe, "but to be able to use a video goes a long way."
The cross-cultural camp is geared towards non-Native organizations such as Shell Canada, regional health authorities, and policing organizations. It covers the history of the Peigan people and helps to develop skills of cross cultural communication.
It may only be a four-minute video, but Crowshoe expects it will get a lot of air play.
Other videos produced at the Peigan Nation focused on the Piikani Lodge Interpretive Centre, inviting people to come visit; and the Piikani Lighthouse Christian Church.
At the Siksika Nation, communications manager Wade Healy, used the video equipment to record the stories of five Elders, mostly talking about Napi.
"The video is an attempt to preserve our culture, our language," he said.
With the Elders speaking in Blackfoot, English subtitles were included during editing.
"Our language is slowly dying out," said Healy. "I wanted to create a video everyone can use."
Healy will make the video available as a community resource, as well as for use at schools. While only the story of one Elder has been edited into a four minute video, Healy is hoping to create three or four more with the other Elders' stories.
Time at the reserve with the equipment did not allow for all the editing work to be done at one time.
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