The David Brower Center Hosts: The Resilience of Sacred Places

Two evenings of film screenings and conversation exploring local indigenous perspectives on environmental and social resilience

The David Brower Center and Sacred Land Film Project are pleased to host a powerful two-part program exploring local indigenous perspectives on environmental and social resilience. Through short films and conversation the two events will address biodiversity in sacred spaces, diverse cultural definitions of security, and the Winnemem Wintu’s fight against the raising of the Shasta Dam.

Tuesday, July 7 - 7pm
The Resilience of Sacred Places: Protecting Biodiversity
Presented in partnership with Sacred Land Film Project
The first evening focuses on the critical role sacred places play in supporting biodiversity: according to the World Bank, indigenous peoples make up just four percent of the planet’s population, and their lands contain 80 percent of the planet’s species, making indigenous groups crucial allies in the fight to protect the environment.

Join the Brower Center for an evening of conversation, film shorts, and a post-program community reception highlighting efforts to restore native cultural and biological heritage. Anne-Marie Sayers (Mutsun Ohlone), Director of Costanoan Indian Research, Corrina Gould (Chochenyo Ohlone), co-organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, and Pennie Opal-Plant (Yaqui, Choctaw and Cherokee), one of the founders of the Idle No More San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and the Refinery Corridor Healing Walks, will share their work from the front lines. Arrive early to peruse offerings from Heyday Books and News from Native California with Lindsie Bear in the Hazel Wolf Gallery.


Wednesday, July 8 - 7 pm
The Resilience of Sacred Places: Defining Security
Presented in partnership with Sacred Land Film Project
In the second evening of the Sacred Places program, the David Brower Center and Sacred Land Film Project consider diverse cultural definitions of security. Following a screening of selections from Standing on Sacred Ground, Caleen Sisk, Spiritual Leader and Tribal Chief of the Winnemem Wintu, will be in conversation with Sacred Land’s Toby McLeod. Together, they will explore the Winnemem Wintu’s fight against the enlargement of the Shasta Dam and ask how our society can prioritize environmental protection as a key component of our shared security. Arrive early to peruse offerings from Heyday Books and News from Native California with Lindsie Bear in the Hazel Wolf Gallery.