Viewing Race Project
Overview
National Video Resources (NVR) is proud to present the Viewing Race Project. Viewing Race gives grassroots organizations, libraries, and other nonprofits access to the best of independent films and other resources on the subjects of race and diversity. Through our outreach we are building a broad community of filmmakers, librarians, programmers, activists, teachers and administrators interested in using independent video to effect social change.
The Video Network on Race
The Network seeks to provide a diverse group of pilot sites across the country with funds to acquire videos from the Viewing Race collection, to offer and evaluate film-based programs on race, and to mentor other organizations interested in mounting their own video programs.
The Viewing Race Website
We are designing this Web site as a comprehensive resource for organizations involved in programs on race, and as a forum for video users to share their experiences.
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Film database and updated resource links
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Ordering information for the publication and the videos
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Essays, articles, commentary and interviews with filmmakers and media users
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Bulletin boards where pilot sites from the Video Network on Race will share their experiences using film and video in their work
Please send your comments, suggestions, or film recommendations to ViewingRace@nvr.org. If you would like updates on the project, website developments and new films, please sign up for our mail or email list.
Lighting the 7th Fire
Lighting the 7th Fire
Subject: Governmental Policy, Native-American Identity, Racism
Summary: A Chippewa Indian prophecy speaks of seven fires representing seven periods of time. The first five fires foretold the Chippewa journey to the Great Lakes region, the arrival of a fair-skinned race to their land and a period of intense strife. The sixth fire predicted great loss. The seventh fire heralds a time when lost traditions are resurrected. Today, in northern Wisconsin, many Chippewas see the reassertion of traditional fishing rights as a spiritual signpost signaling the start of the seventh fire. In the treaties of 1837, 1842 and 1854, the Chippewa ceded vast amounts of land in what is now Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin to the U.S. in exchange for the right to hunt and fish on this territory. After decades of official denials, a 1983 court ruling finally upheld the terms of the earlier agreements; the Chippewa were free to spearfish the way their ancestors did. Unfortunately, the backlash from white Wisconsin residents was immediate and virulent. In harrowing scenes, Chippewa fishermen and their families are subjected to verbal and physical assault by white protesters who accuse the Indians of receiving preferential treatment, contributing to the depletion of walleye and disrupting the tourist trade. Director Sandra Osawa is a member of the Makah tribe with firsthand knowledge of the fishing wars of the Northwest.
Credits: Producer/Director: Sandra Johnson Osawa
Format: Color; 41 minutes/Video
The Color of Fear
Commentary:
This video deals with some hard issues still prevailant in our country today. Any diverse educational institution should have this video apart of their curriculum.
Subject: Race Relations, Racism
Summary: Eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino, African-American and Native American backgrounds gather under the direction of seminar leader Lee Mun Wah to discuss racism. In emotional and often heated exchanges, the participants challenge the privileged status of white Americans and recount their anguished experiences with discrimination.
Credits: Producer/Director: Lee Mun Wah; Participants: Roberto Almanz n, David Christensen, Gordon Clay, David Lee, Victor Lewis, Yutaka Matsumato, Loren Moye, Hugh Vasquez, Lee Mun Wah
Format: Color; 90 minutes/Video/Closed captions