Spearfishing: A Living History explores the tradition and practice of spearfishing through the eyes of Jason Bisonette, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. Jason wants to give his son Samuel an Ojibwe education so that he too can become a provider for his family and community. Published on May 29, 2014

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Finn Ryan - Producer, Director, Photography
Lukas Korver - Video, Editing
Music - Asche & Spencer

A Production of Wisconsin Media Lab.

In Hunting Deer, Greg "Biskakone" Johnson takes us deer hunting in the ceded territory near his Lac du Flambeau community. Biskakone shows us how he tans buckskin and creates traditional clothing and regalia. This video is part of The Ways, an ongoing series of stories on culture and language from Native communities around the central Great Lakes. Likeon Facebook and Follow on Twitter.

Lake Superior Whitefish shares the story of the Petersons, a commercial fishing family in Hancock, MI. This video is part of The Ways, an ongoing series of stories on culture and language from Native communities around the central Great Lakes.

Right now, millions of people are being thrown off their land because large corporations are being given special rights. The World Bank is driving this trend with its Doing Business rankings. Published on Mar 27, 2014 by The Rules, THE RULES IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO BRING POWER BACK TO PEOPLE, AND CHANGE THE RULES THAT CREATE INEQUALITY AND POVERTY AROUND THE WORLD.

ANIMATION: Grain Media
SOUND RECORDING: Wuyi Jacobs, Afrobeat Radio; Jim Richards and the studios of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP

Spanish Version here.

Manari Ushinga of the Sápara people in Ecuador shares with us his people's view the natural world, our interconnectedness, and the importance of keeping the oil that lies underneath the Ecuadorian Amazon untouched. Published on Apr 15, 2014 by Pachamama Alliance.

"Guarda Bosques" (Forest Keepers) 45 min.

On April 15th 2011, when organized crime thugs teamed up with the logging industry and different government agencies to pillage precious and sacred forests at gun-point, the indigenous Purepecha community of Cheran, Michoacan, Mexico rose up with sticks, rocks, and bottle rockets against what can only be described as their local narco-government. Since then, they have taken the authorities offices, weapons, and pick-up trucks, ousted all political parties and all local and state police, and have re-established a traditional form of self-governance that includes its own council of elders, a community "police", known as a "ronda", and its own forest defense team, or forest keepers, known as the "Guarda Bosques."

El 15 de abril de 2011, después de que los matones del crimen organizado se habían unido con la industria maderera y distintas agencias del gobierno para saquear los bosques preciosos y sagrados con la fuerza de las armas, la comunidad indígena Purépecha de Cherán, Michoacán, México, se levantó con palos, piedras y cohetones contra lo que sólo se puede describir como su narco-gobierno. Desde entonces, han tomado control de las oficinas de las autoridades, sus armas y sus camionetas para luego echar fuera a todos los partidos políticos y todos los policías locales y estatales. Han re-establecido una forma de auto-gobernación tradicional que incluye su consejo de ancianos, su "policía" comunitaria, conocida como "la ronda," y su propio equipo para la defensa de los bosques, conocido como los "Guardabosques."

Domingo Peas is the community leader of the Sharamentsa,
Achuar Territory, Ecuador, South America.  He talks about humans being required to respect the forest because here we have all the ecosystem. For the Ochoa, in the forest we have our power. Through our ancestors, we give positive energy for all the force that we have. In this sense we fight to defend ourselves because the forest is not just for the Ochoa, it is for all of humanity, for all of the countries that exist on this planet.

We have to do positive work for the new generation.

Interviewed by Barry Heidt of Sustainability Action Media (SAM) with the help of EarthSayers.tv and Pachamama Alliance in February, 2013.  English translation in progress.

Hilario Saant is a community leader in Kapawi Achuar Territory in Ecuador, South America.  He tells, firsthand, the story of his community around the issue of oil extraction and its destruction of community and the forest.  Interviewed by Barry Heidt of Sustainability Action Media with the help of EarthSayers.tv and the Pachamama Alliance in February 2013.   English translation in process.

A heartfelt message from the Amazon rainforest communities in Ecuador to new Chevron CEO John Watson: "We don't want to continue dying of cancer." This video message appeals for Chevron to clean up its massive contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon that has devastated the environment and continues to cause widespread cancer, birth defects, and other ailments. (published in  Jan 2010)