Short Videos and Animations
Videos
Our Sacred Obligation - 24 min
Children Of The Setting Sun presents Our Sacred Obligation. This film recounts the history of the Yurok Tribe’s struggle against the colonization of the Klamath River, which has sustained them since time immemorial. A land reclamation project and a series of dams have brought the Klamath River salmon populations to the brink of extinction. But the Yurok are fighting back. Propped up by their ancestors, and the recent success of the Klallam Tribe on the Elwha River, the Yurok are using their sovereignty to fulfill their sacred obligation to bring the dams down and restore the river
Great for High School and College students (24 min)
sčədadxʷ (salmon) - 4 min 57 sec
“When the salmon are healthy we are healthy,” Billy Frank Jr.
sčədadxʷ (salmon) is an animated short featuring Billy Frank Jr. that takes the viewer up the river through the eyes of the salmon showing its pristine environment; its connection to the Pacific Northwest People; the arrival of the settlers; habitat degradation; the unification of people throughout the world working together to save salmon and salmon habitat.
sčədadxʷ was produced by Injunuity, a Native Owned Production Company in Oakland California. Great example of Art + Activism.
Excellent for all ages. Great for younger students too. (4:57 min)
Life Cycle of the Pacific Salmon - 5 min 37 sec
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and PNCA Animated Arts present The Pacific Salmon Life Cycle. This film's animation and sound design was created entirely by students in the Animated Arts program at the Pacific Northwest College of Art with scientific guidance from NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region.
This is a great animated scientific explanation of the salmon lifecycle as well as a powerful example of student artistic and scientific collaboration to educate and inspire change.
Especially accessible for K-5 students. (5:37 min)
Renewal On The Little Wind River, WA - 8 min 37 sec
A Salmon Habitat Restoration Project. Underwood Conservation District sponsored a multi-year restoration project, nearly a decade in the making, working to rehabilitate nearly one mile of the Little Wind River. Habitat enhancement work on the Little Wind River has a significant value for steelhead and other anadromous fish in the Wind River system.
All ages. Short video documentary (8:37 min)
Pacific Northwest Fish Wars - 5 min 15 sec
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian - Native Knowledge 360.
Short overview of:
- Indigenous Rights and Treaties
- State Violation of Rights
- Protest
- Racism
Great for Middle School and High School students (5:15 min)
Short FIlms
Rising from the Ashes (2020) - 9 min 25 sec
A hopeful and inspiring short film about the resurgence of summer steelhead in Washington’s Elwha River. The Elwha River is the site of the largest dam removal project yet undertaken in North America. For more than a century two dams completely blocked upstream migration of anadromous salmon, steelhead and char here.
But taking out the dams changed their prospects—dramatically—especially for summer run steelhead, those mysterious and often much larger cousins of winter runs that were thought to be extirpated in the Elwha.
Land of the Yakamas (2021) - 9 min 23 sec
The Yakama Nation Climate Adaptation Plan and traditional cultural knowledge held by Yakama elders has guided the making of this film. The Yakama Nation Climate Adaptation Plan will continue to guide efforts to: honor the ancestors who came before and the accrued wisdom which has been handed down, forming a living legacy; protect the living culture which maintains that immutable connection to the land and insists we continue to protect the sacred resources; and to restore the function and integrity of this landscape, its rivers and its ecology.
Contact:
yakamafish-nsn.gov
/landoftheyakamas
River of Return (2020) - 27 mins 4 sec
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe
Jessica & Sammy Matsaw Of Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Discuss Their Conservation Work - 7 min 41 sec
Summary: Since our conversation with Jessica and Sammy Matsaw, a historic proposal has been put forward to restore the Snake River and build a new vision for the Northwest. You can take action to support a collaborative process to help wild salmon populations, protect endangered orcas, and honor commitments to Northwest Tribes by urging Congress to work together on legislation now.
Long FIlms
Films available on streaming and/or disc
-
DamNation (2014) - 1 hr 27 min
Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, GooglePlay -
Dammed to Extinction (2019) - 51 mins
Blu-ray ($25 -
Return on the River (2014) - 1 hr 9 mins
Trailer: http://www.elwhafilm.com A film about the largest dam removal project in the history of the United States and the extraordinary effort to restore an eco-system and set a river free.