Press Release June 17, 2010 - First Peoples

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 17, 2010Inspiring Stories Focus the Lens on Need to Preserve B.C.’s First Nations LanguagesVANCOUVER – With the help of her grandmother, a young mother composes a lullaby to herbaby in Halq'eméylem; at the Chief Atahm School in Adams Lake, children learn math in theSecwepemctsin language of their ancestors; and on Haida Gwaii, musician Vern Williamshonours his culture with songs in his traditional language ofXaad Kil.These are just a few of the memorable stories featured in Our First Voices, a documentary thatcelebrates 15 of B.C.’s First Nations languages and pays tribute to the drive to preserve andrevitalize all 32 B.C. First Nations languages for future generations.Our First Voices will premiere on Knowledge on National Aboriginal Day, June 21 at 7:30 pm,repeating June 29 at 10:30 pm. It will also be available online at Knowledge.ca. Thedocumentary will then be divided into 13 shorts, which will air on Knowledge in betweenprograms over the next year.Our First Voices was developed by Knowledge, B.C.’s public educational broadcaster, inpartnership with the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council (the FirstPeoples’ Council). A $150,000 grant was provided by the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Educationand Labour Market Development.The documentary features stories and languages from across the province, and was directed byfour aboriginal filmmakers—Lisa Jackson, Helen Haig-Brown, Kelvin Redvers and Zoe LeighHopkins.“This project will not only help to preserve First Nations languages, but raise awareness of theimportant connections between language, history, culture and identity,” said Murray Battle,Director of Independent Production and Presentation at Knowledge Network Corporation.“Knowledge was thrilled to be working with the next generation of storytellers to share theirstories with British Columbians.”“We recently released a report revealing that eight of our First Nations languages are severelyendangered and another 22 are nearly extinct,” said Tracey Herbert, Executive Director at theFirst Peoples’ Council. “While this information is troubling, these films provide a snapshot of theamazing work being done across the province by individuals and communities to stem the loss ofour languages and honour the unique cultural knowledge that exists within each of them.”

Our First Voices Filmmakers:Lisa Jackson is an Anishinaabe filmmaker whose films include Suckerfish and ReservationSoldiers. Her latest short film, Savage, screened recently at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival in theForum Expanded section, and at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.Helen Haig-Brown is a Tsilhqot’in director, director of photography, and teacher. Herlatest film, ?E?anx (The Cave), screened at the Berlin Film Festival and was named one of“Canada’s Top Ten” short films of 2009 by the Toronto International Film Festival.Kelvin Redvers is a Métis filmmaker whose work can be seen at the National Museum of theAmerican Indian in Washington, DC. His latest film, Firebear Called Them Faith Healers,screened at imagineNATIVE and the North American Native Film Festival in Stuttgart,Germany.Zoe Leigh Hopkins is a Heiltsuk/Mohawk director whose first short film, Prayer for aGood Day, premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Her latest film, Tsi tkahéhtayen(The Garden), screened at the ImagineNATIVE and Berlin Film Festivals.-30-About Knowledge:Knowledge is a viewer-supported public educational broadcaster that provides commercial-freecreative documentaries, arts and culture and children’s programs from Canada and around theworld. Knowledge plays a vital role in supporting the independent production community in B.C.and the rest of Canada by commissioning, pre-licensing and acquiring documentary andchildren’s content for broadcast on Knowledge and Knowledge.ca.About the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council:The First Peoples’ Council is a B.C. Crown corporation with the mandate to support FirstNations in their efforts to revitalize their languages, arts, cultures and heritage. The FirstPeoples’ Council has distributed more than $20 million to BC Aboriginal communities over thepast 20 years. For more information, please visit www.fphlcc.ca.Media Contacts:Glenna PollonMegan LappiDirector of Government and Public RelationsCommunications ManagerKnowledgeThe First Peoples’ Heritage,Tel. (604) 431-3184Language and Culture Councilglennap@knowledge.ca Tel. (250) 652-5952 ext. 214megan@fphlcc.ca