Speaker tells NU students about Native American religions in film

By Michael Davis
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

While guest speaker Patty Manning talked in Professor Nicholas' racial and cultural minority class about the history of Native Americans, the class listened intently as she told about the hardships the Native Americans have gone through and are still going through.

When Manning gave the students a brochure on a film called "In the Light of Reverence," which shows some of the hardships that Native Americans still face, the class seemed eager to go and see it.

"This film pertains to land based religions," said Patty Manning, a Wampanoag who lives in Northfield, Vt. "It brings up issues of the people who have sacred sites where they practice their religious beliefs."

On Mar. 26 at 6:30 p.m., "In the Light of Reverence" was shown as a part of the Green Mountain Film Festival at City Hall in Montpelier, Vt. This film tells about three Native American communities and the sacred sites they struggle to protect, according to Green Mountain Film Festival fliers.

"Basically the film is covering the controversy, disagreements, and attitudes regarding sacred sites to Native Americans," said Nanatasas Bluto-Delvental of Pawlet, Vt., one of the four people who was going to be on a panel discussion about the film after its showing.

According to Manning, the film presents three sacred sites of the Native Americans: Devil's Tower for the Dakota people, Mount Shasta for the Wintu people, and the Four Corners for the Hopi people.

An example of one of the controversies covered in the film is the sacred site in Wyoming: Devil's Tower. The film looks at people "who use Devil's Tower for climbing," said Darini Nicholas of Montpelier, Vt., who teaches courses in Sociology and The Peace Corps.

The film talks about how the Native Americans there would like for the mountainside not to be climbed at certain times of year "because of various prayer bundles that they have placed on the faces of the mountain or the bases of the mountains," Nicholas said. "They don't want these sites to be disturbed."

Unfortunately, many rock climbers pay no attention to the wishes of the Native Americans and continue to climb, even during their ceremonies, according to Manning.

"I think that it all comes down to respect and reverence to the land," Manning said. "We need to reevaluate and think over and see if we can't come to some resolution with people that are being hurt."

"In 1978 the Native American Religious Freedom Act gave us the right to be able to practice our spirituality, again, which is something that should never have been taken away," Bluto-Delvental said. "It comes almost impossible to practice that right when many of the sacred sites, we don't have any power over."

"The film also looks at the perspectives of those who are not Indian, such as the White community who live in those areas," Nicholas said.

According to the Green Mountain Film Festival brochure, the festival ran from Mar. 22 through Mar. 31, showing 35 different film programs, and is on its fifth consecutive year.

"It's a festival that happens every year," Manning said. "Most of the films are challenging people to diversity, thinking globally, acting locally."

"In the Light of Reverence" became a part of the Green Mountain Film Festival when Tovar Cerulli of Marshfield, Vt., who helped to organize the panel discussion that followed the screening of the film, suggested it to the festival.

"I had seen a newspaper story about it when I was out West last year," Cerulli said, "and recommended it as a potential part of the Green Mountain Film Festival for this year."

Manning planned to host the panel discussion after the screening. "We will have four people that are on the panel to have a 40-minute discussion after the film," Manning said. "It's getting people to take some kind of action against their own conscious morality."

"On the panel, we're going to have several Native folks," Cerulli said. "A couple people from the Abenaki Nation (including Bluto-Delvental) and a fellow from the Lakota Nation.

According to Cerulli, "we'll open it up as an open discussion between the audience and panel, with questions, answers, and thoughts exchanged."

Nicholas said that she wanted her students to see the film, "because I want the students a part of my racial and cultural minority class to be exposed to the kinds of contemporary issues that are going on in America today."

Adrian Lindsey, 18, a freshman communications major from Quitin, Md., who is in Nicholas's class, said that he hoped to take from this film "different cultural views and to expand my mind."

"Hopefully, what this film will bring about is to raise the consciousness and education of the people and to have people actually question their own belief systems" Manning said.

Samantha Steiner, 20, a senior psychology major from Buffalo, N.Y., who is in Nicholas's class, said "I'd like to be educated on it and if possible see if there is something I can do to help."

Bluto-Delvental said she hoped that people "will get a sensitivity to the problems, that they will learn to respect, open their minds, gain tolerance, and try to come to an understanding about our own spirituality."

According to Lindsey, "there are people in this school who can relate to some of the things that are going on within the film; it could be some commonality between people and things that they have in common."

Nicholas said she hoped her students "will not only gain insight to this kind of issue, but also understand the perspectives that are being discussed."

More information can be found about the Green Mountain Film Festival and other independent film showings at www.savoytheater.com.

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