There is a history and a people that’s been forever cultivating it’s lands and people to allow not just for the growth of the generations of past, but for the future ones to come. Colorado River Indian Tribes celebrated it’s 150 Commemoration Anniversary in 2015, hosted by the commonwealth of the four main tribes that make up the reservation – Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo. The historical tribal leaders – of Chief Manataba and Chief Irataba – bridged by connection and bonds of direct bloodlines and history of the territory, still hold their families and growing lineage to this day. Community built on the expectations of respect, resilience, and familiarity found with the natural siding protection and preservation of the river – our sacred and ecological treasure. Interviews conducted with Chairwoman Amelia Flores and posthumous folks like Sheldon Swick and Delano Carter, show off the sides of the Mohave leaders who fought and advocated for the respect and designation of tribal sovereignty protecting their footprint of tribes. The documentary short gives accounts and testimonies from the selected influential council/leaders/members who wish to help with establishing and upholding the standards found within the history and long lasting legacy of CRIT.

On top of having the moments to advocate and speak on the importance of upholding the history of language, culture, and artifacts, the Mohave members are active in encouraging their youth community to engage in more activities and preservation matters. The events hosted by professionals and active participants in the traditions of dancing and singing (with Bird Dances and gourd singing) brings out the engagement and proper respect aimed by the Mohave resiliency and grand recognition. We see the people coming together for the dances and songs of the passed down knowledge and customs of the elders we unfortunately lose as times grows on. So much their influence can be found with the practices and standards established into the policies up making sure nobody outside reservation can ignore/forgets that “we” hold the keys to our future – not just as a tribe but as a people who’re strong and ready for all obstacles in the line. CRIT holds a special stance as a reservation of varying cultures that all handle the goals of those in their interests as a revitalization tool towards the Indigenous way of life that we must build up more. The way we document and specially record our own accounts and history – the land history, tribal leaders designation, gathering of the peoples, establishing the CRIT way – has everything to do with our lives here. And it’s something to never be forgotten.

Film Review by CRIT Media Tech Naythen T. Lowe

A companion piece to the “In Our Voice” (2018), this documentary short shows and profiles the Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo tribes as the other side perspective of what came to be the formation of Colorado River Indian Tribes through Parker and Poston, AZ.  What we see and follow is the 1st hand accounts of the individuals – including Mary McCabe (Navajo), Ronald Moore (Hopi), and Bonita Jane Eddy (Chemehuevi) – whose families had emigrated and colonized the reservations areas that the Mohave held since the formation of CRIT. These detailed accounts show us the history of the colonization program implemented by the US government during WWII, the emigrated families and merging/clashing of tribes being moved around, and the formation and acceptance of the varying tribes into a grown community based on traditions and peoples. An emotional moment shared by subject Harold Crow (Navajo) recalls how his Diné-speaking parents were not allowed to speak their language to their children – enforced by the schools and government systems to assimilate the people into required English – caused an identity anxiety which reverberates and relates to tribal members even through today. It’s a vulnerable moment of the documentary that adds layers into the personal struggle and aspects of the elders’ history and culture being one that was manipulated – but ultimately uplifted and being actively upheld by many of the generations to come after. It shows a complicated history that’s built into a ever-growing and progressive cultural shift/reclamation that tribes members are working and fighting to remember.

The surprising gift of this docu-short film is the amount of beauty and skill found in the filmmaking and editing of the subjects and history profiled. The cinematography captures so much of the subjects and interlinking montages with a grace and expertise in a nuance format that’s almost ethereal in nature. Each subject is allowed the breathing room to relate and share their stories and recollections of what the lands and cultivation of CRIT looked like for the tribes being introduced and how they were directly affected. And the usage of archival footage and vintage photography of the tribal communities and documented history inter-spliced within the film gives so much depth and understanding to what CRIT wants to present and preserve with the way we’re represented. The film stands out through it’s pacing and format as more of an anthology profile of each represented tribes’ individual and shared outlooks of being the strangers to a land they would call home. The history is shared, the memories are recorded, and the experiences of these people and their stories will be honored through this short film. It’s slowly becoming one of my personal favorites of the CRITFilms series we’ve covered, and I’ll be happy to recommend and praise it to anyone who asks what we are as a tribe and community.

Film Review written by CRIT Media Tech Naythen T. Lowe