[00:00:00] Felipe Contreras...: Hey, this is Felipe Contreras on Coast Salish Territories. This is Seedcast. We share stories from around the world, honor the guardians of the land, those who have lived in relationships with their traditional territory since time immemorial. Jessica Ramirez is on vacation so I'm filling in today.
[00:00:19] Theme Song: [singing]
[00:00:40] Felipe Contreras...: As you may know, reciprocity is a core value here at Seedcast. And so every now and then we share podcasts that we are in relationship with. And we want you to hear about. So I'm here to share the What's Up with Docs podcast. What's Up with Docs is the documentary podcast for all of us. It's hosted by Tony Bell and produced by Ranell Schubert. The podcast is about documentaries. It takes you from the concept to screen and highlights why representation matters.
[00:01:13] At Seedcast we believe that stories have the power to support the rights and traditional ways of Indigenous people. So if you're Indigenous and looking to turn your stories into films or just interesting in learning more about emerging or existing Indigenous creatives, you should check this out.
[00:01:30] This episode features Tracy Rector. She's our Executive Producer of Seedcast and Managing Director of Storytelling at Nia Tero. Tracy talks about our work. She has 20 years of experience as a filmmaker. She's produced over 400 films. She's an educator, a film programmer, and an arts curator. But her origins are in plant medicine. The conversation took place in February 2020 at the Big Sky Film Festival. It's a gathering held on the lands of the Salish and [inaudible 00:01:58] people. Toni Bell sat down with Tracy to talk about their careers leading up to that point and how they first met. They both participated in Firelight Media's Impact Producing Fellowship. Toni was a mentor in the program and Tracy was a fellow.
[00:02:11] Tracy Rector: And as you were part of the inaugural [crosstalk 00:02:13] group, right? And it was incredible.
[00:02:15] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:02:16] Tracy Rector: Really transformative-
[00:02:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:18] Tracy Rector: ... and affirming. And I think-
[00:02:20] Toni Bell: So what do you-
[00:02:21] Tracy Rector: ... got me on this path now.
[00:02:22] Toni Bell: So what do you-
[00:02:23] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:02:23] Toni Bell: ... feel like you learned as being part of that program that you didn't know before?
[00:02:29] Tracy Rector: They really emphasized with everyone it's okay to be you and to tell your stories. And it's okay to be in community. And it's okay to talk about the hard stuff we experience.
[00:02:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:41] Tracy Rector: But also maybe the things we unintentionally, you know, impose upon one another just-
[00:02:49] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:02:49] Tracy Rector: ... you know, lateral oppressions the-
[00:02:51] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:02:52] Oh, talk about that.
[00:02:54] Tracy Rector: You know, I think especially as POC filmmakers, as women-
[00:02:58] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:59] Tracy Rector: ... um, you know, we're- we make up such a minority in the media making industry-
[00:03:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:05] Tracy Rector: ... that there's just a lot of, uh, imposed restrictions on us and competitions and ways that we have to fight through all these barriers and gatekeepers. And-
[00:03:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:16] Tracy Rector: ... sometimes we do that to one another just because we're trying to survive in this industry, unknowingly or knowingly-
[00:03:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:24] Tracy Rector: And they just made space to talk about some of this stuff so you can unpack it and actually address it. And, um, I would say decolonize or-
[00:03:34] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:35] Tracy Rector: ... indigenize or deconstruct, you know, all these ways of, yeah, these lenses that are placed on the work that we do-
[00:03:42] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:03:43] Tracy Rector: ... [crosstalk 00:03:44] and these methodologies that don't really necessarily serve us a POC-
[00:03:47] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:48] Tracy Rector: ... filmmakers.
[00:03:49] Toni Bell: Because it's not how we see and- and interact in the world.
[00:03:53] Tracy Rector: Not inherently. And-
[00:03:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:54] Tracy Rector: ... especially in the Indigenous community-
[00:03:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:56] Tracy Rector: And I'm a mixed race filmmaker so I bring to the table a number of different viewpoints and life experiences. But from my own personal life experience, I don't experience Indigenous communities being as competitive. I experience-
[00:04:14] Toni Bell: Mm. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:15] Tracy Rector: ... us in general, and our value systems, to be more collaborative and community minded. So yeah. So that's-
[00:04:21] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:04:21] Tracy Rector: ... it's the- the imposition of the values of the broader-
[00:04:25] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:26] Tracy Rector: ... like, media industry-
[00:04:28] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:04:29] Tracy Rector: ... and inherently not Indigenous values.
[00:04:32] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:32] Tracy Rector: And so, just thinking through some of that with that sp- you know, within that space of Firelight was amazing.
[00:04:38] Toni Bell: Right. I don't know if you remember, like, but during that, um, during that weekend they were screening, um, uh, they were s- they- showing cuts from a film and I forget the ... I think it was called Do Not Resist. Um, and, um, in the film it was essentially, there's this long sequence of, you have police in paramilitary, um, gear and then long sequences of, like-
[00:05:03] Tracy Rector: [crosstalk 00:05:04]
[00:05:04] Toni Bell: ... Black person after Black person after Black person being shot by the cops.
[00:05:07] Tracy Rector: Field of Vision.
[00:05:08] Toni Bell: Field of Vision. Yeah. And I rem- distinctly remembering, um-
[00:05:13] Tracy Rector: Lauda-
[00:05:14] Toni Bell: ... Lauda [laughing] Limble, she actually got up and she stopped. She stopped, she, she cut off the tape. And she addressed the fact that a lot of us in the room were triggered. And we actually had a conversation-
[00:05:30] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:05:30] Toni Bell: ... about that then and there. And, for me, that was just so incredibly powerful to witness and experience. Because I'm- for me, I'm, I'm, I'm good about knowing what my triggers were but, like, at that moment, I didn't realize I was triggered-
[00:05:44] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:05:44] Toni Bell: But when she said it, I'm like, okay. I looked around and everybody kind of had, like, this glassy eye-
[00:05:48] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:05:48] Toni Bell: ... about. And we were, like, a lot of people were kind of- ha- were in a dissociative state. And the fact that we were in a space where that could be called out and we could talk about it right then and there was so incredible. And really, for me, solidified like what is different about Firelight.
[00:06:07] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:06:07] Toni Bell: And, and the work- and the work that they do.
[00:06:09] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:06:10] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:06:10] Tracy Rector: That was a powerful moment.
[00:06:11] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:06:12] Tracy Rector: I agree. Because-
[00:06:12] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:13] Tracy Rector: ... they made space to dive into that conversation.
[00:06:16] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:06:17] Tracy Rector: And to not only dive in and facilitate a good conversation-
[00:06:21] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:21] Tracy Rector: ... but also they closed it out well too. So we-
[00:06:24] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:06:24] Tracy Rector: ... weren't just leaving vulnerable and traumatized but-
[00:06:27] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:27] Tracy Rector: ... we had some tools to think about what just happened-
[00:06:29] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:06:30] Tracy Rector: ... when we left the room.
[00:06:31] Toni Bell: And everybody was given an opportunity to just si- say their piece and what they felt. And a lot of people stood up and just- there's a power to being, being heard.
[00:06:41] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:41] Toni Bell: You know? Being validated and essentially having- being borne witness-
[00:06:47] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:06:47] Toni Bell: ... to. I don't know if I'm saying that correctly. But yeah. But I see that in a lot of the work that you've, um, done with Fourth Media. And, um, I- you invited me to be, be a mentor for the last year's group in Seattle and it was such an amazing, powerful, um, experience for me. Um, even though I'm not Native American. I'm African American. So I have my, my own identities. But for me, in so many ways, it just solidified the why people- why individual groups need their own spaces where they're being nurtured. And I was-
[00:07:20] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:07:20] Toni Bell: ... just remembering back, um, to last- it was Memorial Day weekend. It was my birthday weekend. And I- you took such, such good care of us because-
[00:07:30] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:07:31] Toni Bell: ... you took care of all of our transportation. And you had people telling us where to go. And she even brought us bag lunches.
[00:07:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:07:38] Toni Bell: And it's like, okay. Here's your lunch. I'm like, oh my god. Like I feel like I'm just like in kindergarten. Then Tracy's just gonna, like, tell me where to go. And I remember when I got back to LA, I w- I was thinking like, oh my god. I don't know what to do. Like I had to-
[00:07:49] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:07:49] Toni Bell: ... [laughing] do- had to do my life now. But, but it- and I was thinking about that experience, like just how nurturing and supportive it was. Like I really began to understand that you were- you were trying to create a space for these artists to just, like, create their art.
[00:08:05] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:06] Toni Bell: And to be purposeful about the work they do. So, like, how did you come to that? Like how did you know to c- that, that space is needed? Particularly in a world where people who, like us, who are trying to create art, or have, like, so many things on our plate and, um, have so many responsibilities-
[00:08:26] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:27] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:08:28] Tracy Rector: Well I just think in my own life experience as, you know, a mixed race woman, I feel oftentimes a lot of the work I burden and carry and shoulder just incredible responsibilities at all times. And that's not unusual-
[00:08:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:45] Tracy Rector: ... for us as women, as women of color, as Indigenous women. We are the matriarchs. We're the sisters. We're the mothers. We're the daughters. We're the housekeepers. We're the bread winners.
[00:08:57] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:57] Tracy Rector: We're the community organizers. We're doing the work.
[00:09:01] Toni Bell: Yeah. We're every woman-
[00:09:02] Tracy Rector: All the time. Yes.
[00:09:04] Toni Bell: Whitney Houston.
[00:09:04] Tracy Rector: Yes! Whitney Houston.
[00:09:06] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:09:06] Tracy Rector: And, um, you know, I think about Fourth World Media Lab. I wanted to create a space where we, as a group, can do the work. The cohort can do the work-
[00:09:18] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:18] Tracy Rector: ... of being a filmmaker, of learning, or having not to shoulder responsibilities. Of not having to think about the outside world-
[00:09:27] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:28] Tracy Rector: ... for just a brief moment, knowing that their needs will be taken care of and that they're well thought of.
[00:09:34] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:09:34] Tracy Rector: And that, um, they can just let go and-
[00:09:38] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:38] Tracy Rector: ... learn. And not multi-task every second. And just truly be present. And that's something I see, you know, I, I think of the gaps that occur for Indigenous filmmaking because people are holding down so many different jobs-
[00:09:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:53] Tracy Rector: ... so many different roles. Just so much. How can we go to that next stage of learning and skill building to better ourselves in our career? So I just wanted to-
[00:10:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:03] Tracy Rector: ... be able to provide, you know, within the work of Fourth World Media Lab that realization that it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to be taken care of. It's okay-
[00:10:12] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:12] Tracy Rector: ... to be in community. And to treat yourself to just learning and enjoying-
[00:10:17] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:10:17] Tracy Rector: ... and being present.
[00:10:18] Toni Bell: Yeah. But you- I think you did a, a great job of that. You know, and I was there as, like, part of the facilitation team. And I, I felt very [laughing] taken care of.
[00:10:28] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:10:28] Toni Bell: And it, it was great. Um, so I actually wanted to just kind of chat about some of your non-filmmaking work 'cause you have-
[00:10:35] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:35] Toni Bell: ... a Wikipedia page.
[00:10:36] Tracy Rector: I do?
[00:10:36] Toni Bell: You do. Yeah, you do. You haven't seen it?
[00:10:38] Tracy Rector: Really?
[00:10:39] Toni Bell: Yes!
[00:10:42] Tracy Rector: No. [laughs]
[00:10:42] Toni Bell: You do [laughing].
[00:10:43] Tracy Rector: I haven't seen it.
[00:10:43] Toni Bell: Oh! You need to go to your Wikipedia page. It's, it's very nice.
[00:10:47] Tracy Rector: Is it good?
[00:10:48] Toni Bell: Oh yeah, it's good! Yeah.
[00:10:48] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:10:49] Toni Bell: But, like, I was surprised by all the non- like non-filmmaking stuff that you do. So, like, your work with the Seattle Arts Commission and, like, your work as an educational consultant, and as a native naturalist. So can you talk a little bit about that?
[00:11:01] Tracy Rector: Oh wow. That's-
[00:11:02] Toni Bell: Yeah. 'Cause-
[00:11:02] Tracy Rector: ... so funny.
[00:11:03] Toni Bell: Yeah! You didn't-
[00:11:04] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:11:05] Toni Bell: ... check it out when we're done. [laughs]
[00:11:07] Tracy Rector: It speaks to how busy I am.
[00:11:08] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:11:09] I know, right? You don't have time to look yourself-
[00:11:11] Tracy Rector: Google myself-
[00:11:12] Toni Bell: ... up. [crosstalk 00:11:13] You have a life.
[00:11:14] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:11:14] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:11:17] Tracy Rector: Um, let's see. Well, I, I guess how I got into filmmaking was with my interest in natural medicine. And-
[00:11:23] Toni Bell: Oh, okay.
[00:11:24] Tracy Rector: ... so I was working in the Skokomish Reservation for Bruce Miller and PBS wanted to do a story about him.
[00:11:31] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:31] Tracy Rector: And he said, "You can, only if you have a native intern. Because our people need to learn the skills to tell our own stories."
[00:11:39] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:39] Tracy Rector: And I was working in, uh, compost at the time, in the garden, his garden. And, um-
[00:11:46] Toni Bell: So wait. So what- you were, like, teaching how to compost? Or-
[00:11:48] Tracy Rector: No. I was learning.
[00:11:49] Toni Bell: You were learning?
[00:11:50] Tracy Rector: I was a student.
[00:11:50] Toni Bell: Oh, okay, okay.
[00:11:51] Tracy Rector: I was learning about-
[00:11:52] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:11:53] Tracy Rector: ... traditional gardening and plant medicine. And I was-
[00:11:57] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:57] Tracy Rector: ... really interested at that time in compost and how-
[00:12:01] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:01] Tracy Rector: ... that- you know, it makes sense. I'm gonna jump into compost-
[00:12:03] Toni Bell: Yeah, go 'head.
[00:12:04] Tracy Rector: ... for a second.
[00:12:04] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:12:04] Tracy Rector: So compost is this creation of, you know, bringing all these different components together-
[00:12:11] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:11] Tracy Rector: ... to break down and reemerge into something new that's nurturing.
[00:12:15] Toni Bell: Oh-
[00:12:16] Tracy Rector: And in a way I feel like that is the foundation of my work, is I love bringing people together-
[00:12:22] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:22] Tracy Rector: ... to create something new that's gonna benefit even more people.
[00:12:26] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:12:27] Tracy Rector: Um, anyway, so through that-
[00:12:30] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:30] Tracy Rector: ... uh, experience, I was asked by him and one of the, uh, professors at Evergreen who knew that I was interested in education of native youth, if I would be interested in being on the film project. And at the time I was like, "Who me?" Like I'm working in dirt-
[00:12:49] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:49] Tracy Rector: I have- I have no idea or concept or even interest at the time-
[00:12:55] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:56] Tracy Rector: ... in media. Um, but one of the lessons I've learned in how I was raised is when the elder asks you to do something, you say yes.
[00:13:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:05] Tracy Rector: And so I trusted that instinct. And I said yes. And that was almost 20 years ago.
[00:13:11] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:13:12] Tracy Rector: Um, I jumped in. It wa- and that was Teachings of the Tree People.
[00:13:17] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:17] Tracy Rector: Yeah. Teachings of the Tree People. That was my first project. And it was an incredibly generous crew-
[00:13:24] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:24] Tracy Rector: ... um, that allowed me to grow and truly fall in love with the process of filmmaking and-
[00:13:29] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:30] Tracy Rector: ... story telling. And then I just took it forward from there. And Bruce Miller is just- two days before he passed on, we showed him the final film for his-
[00:13:40] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:13:40] Tracy Rector: ... sign off and approval. And he-
[00:13:42] Toni Bell: Mm- mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:42] Tracy Rector: ... looked at me and he said, "It's up to you to take this knowledge forward." And-
[00:13:47] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:13:48] Tracy Rector: ... I took that to heart. You know?
[00:13:50] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:50] Tracy Rector: It's, um, this isn't knowledge that's just for me as an individual but-
[00:13:55] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:55] Tracy Rector: ... it's a knowledge for the wider community. So yeah.
[00:13:58] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:13:58] Tracy Rector: So I've done a lot in life. It started-
[00:14:01] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:14:01] Tracy Rector: ... with traditional medicine-
[00:14:03] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:03] Tracy Rector: ... and, um, went into filmmaking. But also that thread of the natural world has always been part of what I do. So-
[00:14:10] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:11] Tracy Rector: ... I created curriculum and signage at the, um, Seattle Art Museum for-
[00:14:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:16] Tracy Rector: ... their sculpture park that identified natural plants.
[00:14:20] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:14:20] Tracy Rector: I've worked with youth. I've done a lot of art curation now. And now in my role as Managing Director at Nia Tero-
[00:14:28] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:29] Tracy Rector: ... we're committed to working with Indigenous peoples in relationship to the environment and culture. So the environment-
[00:14:35] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:14:35] Tracy Rector: ... is still very much-
[00:14:36] Toni Bell: It's still part of it.
[00:14:37] Tracy Rector: ... part of everything I do. Yeah.
[00:14:38] Toni Bell: So, um, Nia- your work at Nia Tero is your new job.
[00:14:42] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:42] Toni Bell: And I remember you- we were talking about it, um, at Sundance and you were saying- you were so excited because you have, like, all native staff.
[00:14:49] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:50] Toni Bell: And some of them I already knew. Like some of them were Fourth World Media people. And-
[00:14:54] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:54] Toni Bell: ... but, like, you were just giddy about that. And I love that. [laughs]
[00:14:57] Tracy Rector: It's pretty awesome.
[00:14:58] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah. So tell us about, um, Nia Tero. I know we learned a little bit about it, um, last night. So, um, Ranell Schubert is here with me. She's the producer. She's over here doing her silent thing making sure everything is being recorded.
[00:15:10] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:15:11] Toni Bell: But, um, we went to this amazing, um, fellowship dinner for the Nia Tero fellows as well as the Fourth World Media Lab fellows. And had amazing food. And, um, Mia ... What was Mia's last name?
[00:15:24] Tracy Rector: Mia Kami.
[00:15:25] Toni Bell: Mia Kami from Fiji, um, she actually sang two beautiful songs. And one of the songs, I'm completely paraphrasing, but also our host who was ... What was his name?
[00:15:36] Tracy Rector: Chris-
[00:15:37] Toni Bell: Chris.
[00:15:37] Tracy Rector: ... Filardi.
[00:15:37] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah, Chris. Yes. Um, restated it. Um, and the quote was, essentially, when we look at ourselves as individuals, like, what kind of ancestor do you want to be? That that's the question.
[00:15:50] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:15:50] Toni Bell: Like what kind of ancestor do you want to be? Like I- the way I looked at it- that's why I'm looking at it at the long, the long game. I'm looking at it how, as to how, like, the people who become ... I don't have children. But, like, the people who essentially would be, like, the age of my grandchildren, my great grandchildren-
[00:16:07] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:16:07] Toni Bell: ... like how- what they- how they would benefit. Because that's how I feel like my ancestors looked- looked at- saw me, you know? 'Cause when you think about my great- [inaudible 00:16:17] my great, great, great, great ... I don't know. Well, multiple great grandmother, you know, grandparents were, were enslaved.
[00:16:23] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:16:23] Toni Bell: And at a time when there was, like, no hope for freedom. But, you know, they dreamed of freedom. And they weren't thinking about it for, for themselves. They were thinking about it for me. Um, so I'm getting-
[00:16:34] Tracy Rector: Oh-
[00:16:34] Toni Bell: ... I'm getting a little teary.
[00:16:35] Tracy Rector: That's beautiful.
[00:16:36] Toni Bell: Um, so when, uh, Mia sang what kind of ancestor do you want to be and Chris kind of reiterated it, but they kind of extended it, like, to seven, to eight generations, and that just kinda gave- that just gives me chills. And I think that's how we have to think about the world because I- I feel like I'm gonna be doing things in the world that people who come after me and after me who I'll never know will benefit from. And Nia Tero seems to be fostering that. So tell us what-
[00:17:07] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:07] Toni Bell: ... it is and-
[00:17:08] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:17:09] Toni Bell: ... I won't cry over here.
[00:17:10] Tracy Rector: Yeah. [laughs]
[00:17:10] Toni Bell: And [inaudible 00:17:11] [laughing] I get teary but ...
[00:17:13] Tracy Rector: Yeah. No, thank you for that-
[00:17:15] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:17:15] Tracy Rector: ... for sharing that moment-
[00:17:17] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:17] Tracy Rector: ... that's powerful.
[00:17:18] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:17:18] Tracy Rector: Um, Nia Tero was birthed by a group of people led by Peter Seligmann. And he initially founded Conservation International and was there for many decades. And as his retirement project [laughing] he's like, "What can I do different?" And, um, learned about the statistic that 80% of all biodiversity is on Indigenous held territories.
[00:17:46] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:17:46] Tracy Rector: And that the world is healthiest where Indigenous peoples are actively living and thriving and being in community.
[00:17:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:55] Tracy Rector: Doesn't that blow your mind?
[00:17:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:57] Tracy Rector: And for him, he was just like, "People gotta know about this. This is-
[00:18:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:02] Tracy Rector: ... essential in saving the health of our planet." And so he started Nia Tero with that in mind. And again, we work alongside Indigenous peoples-
[00:18:13] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:13] Tracy Rector: ... in relationship to the environment and culture. And part of that work is helping people secure their territories and-
[00:18:21] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:18:22] Tracy Rector: ... protect-
[00:18:22] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:18:22] Tracy Rector: ... um, their inalienable rights to be in place.
[00:18:25] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:27] Tracy Rector: And it's been an interesting, amazing journey because when I started, they were barely two years old.
[00:18:34] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:35] Tracy Rector: So it's a start up organization.
[00:18:35] Toni Bell: Oh- okay.
[00:18:37] Tracy Rector: And we're a global organization.
[00:18:39] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:40] Tracy Rector: And we're a diverse organization. So around half of all the staff are Indigenous-
[00:18:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:45] Tracy Rector: ... and half are non-indigenous.
[00:18:47] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:47] Tracy Rector: So there's all this foundational work that we're doing too to figure out our identity, our working practices-
[00:18:52] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:18:54] Tracy Rector: ... how do we communicate as a global, diverse staff-
[00:18:58] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:58] Tracy Rector: ... who are in service to Indigenous peoples and earth.
[00:19:02] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:03] Tracy Rector: And so it's really dynamic. It's very exciting. Although there are-
[00:19:07] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:19:07] Tracy Rector: ... these ways that we know we wanna head-
[00:19:10] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:10] Tracy Rector: ... but we're also just in this question asking period. What-
[00:19:14] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:14] Tracy Rector: ... do communities need from us?
[00:19:16] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:19:16] Tracy Rector: What's most effective? When I came in as the-
[00:19:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:19] Tracy Rector: ... Managing Director of Story Telling, I brought with me an intense passion-
[00:19:24] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:24] Tracy Rector: ... for amplifying Indigenous voices-
[00:19:26] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:27] Tracy Rector: ... uplifting Indigenous community and creating networks, being able to have our story telling fellowship and the Fourth World Fellowship-
[00:19:34] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:35] Tracy Rector: ... now that's part of Nia Tero too-
[00:19:37] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:37] Tracy Rector: ... um, is a huge godsend because, for me, that's what it's about. It's about creating capacity-
[00:19:44] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:44] Tracy Rector: ... building skills, bringing people together so then they can also share with one another-
[00:19:50] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:50] Tracy Rector: ... and build out into their communities.
[00:19:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:53] Tracy Rector: So-
[00:19:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:53] Tracy Rector: ... sharing power and amplifying power. So, um, story telling fellows, uh, they come from all different types of story telling so-
[00:20:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:02] Tracy Rector: ... you know, whether it be film, traditional-
[00:20:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:05] Tracy Rector: ... tattoo, uh-
[00:20:06] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:20:07] Tracy Rector: ... performance-
[00:20:07] Toni Bell: Cool. All right.
[00:20:08] Tracy Rector: ... song-
[00:20:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:09] Tracy Rector: ... photography. And Fourth World Fellows is strictly filmmaking. And it's filmmakers-
[00:20:14] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:20:14] Tracy Rector: ... who have some amount of lived experience as a filmmaker, at least two years.
[00:20:19] Toni Bell: Okay. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:20] Tracy Rector: And so that's a cohort that is really dedicated to building their skills.
[00:20:24] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:20:25] Tracy Rector: And building out their ability to navigate the-
[00:20:28] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:28] Tracy Rector: ... you know, yeah, the media world [laughs]-
[00:20:31] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:20:31] Tracy Rector: ... industry.
[00:20:32] Toni Bell: Right. So, um, I, I know you explained last night for- but for those who don't know, tell us how you came up with the world- uh, the name Fourth World Media Lab-
[00:20:40] Tracy Rector: Yeah. So Fourth World Media ... So I began that fellowship six years ago-
[00:20:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:46] Tracy Rector: ... in Coast Salish Territory-
[00:20:48] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:48] Tracy Rector: ... Seattle, Washington. And in starting this new fellowship and then thinking about the intentions of it, I felt that it was important to ask an elder what an appropriate name would be.
[00:20:59] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:00] Tracy Rector: And I talked to a man and he told me this story about Fourth World, which is a time when Mother Earth finds herself in deep pain and humans have imposed much tragedy and harm on the environment. And it's a time when the stories of Indigenous peoples will be called upon for healing.
[00:21:20] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:20] Tracy Rector: And so that was just ... That gives me chills right now even to think about-
[00:21:26] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:21:26] Tracy Rector: ... that moment and understanding the power of story telling. And it seemed like the perfect name for this filmmaking fellowship-
[00:21:35] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:35] Tracy Rector: ... to acknowledge, you know, this skill set in these individuals is about creating medicine and healing for the future.
[00:21:42] Toni Bell: Right. So d- do you view, um ... You- do you see filmmaking as medicine? Well, story telling-
[00:21:48] Tracy Rector: Absolutely.
[00:21:49] Toni Bell: ... as medicine? Yeah.
[00:21:49] Tracy Rector: Yeah. And that- I guess that relates to my beginnings in the garden-
[00:21:53] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:21:54] Tracy Rector: ... it's just- it's all full circle.
[00:21:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:56] Tracy Rector: Um, I see gathering together as powerful medicine, sharing story, talking story, learning from one another is revolutionary. And just the act of sharing story is a process for healing for a lot of filmmakers too.
[00:22:12] Toni Bell: Yes. It [crosstalk 00:22:14] goes back to that space of, you know, being seen and heard-
[00:22:16] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:22:17] Toni Bell: ... you know, and bearing witness to one another.
[00:22:19] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:22:19] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:20] Tracy Rector: Oh yeah.
[00:22:20] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:21] Tracy Rector: And that has to happen in a safe space-
[00:22:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:22:24] Tracy Rector: ... I feel, um, in order to take that ability to navigate the industry to the next level.
[00:22:32] Toni Bell: Right. Right. So I wanted to talk about some of the, um, folks I met, like, last year who, uh ... And I know, uh- and th- I'm not leaving anybody out intentionally, but these are, like, people who have just kind of like stuck with me.
[00:22:45] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:22:45] Toni Bell: Um, so, um, Ivy and Ivan McDonald.
[00:22:48] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:22:49] Toni Bell: Yes. Talk about that brother/sister powerhouse team-
[00:22:52] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Tracy Rector: Brother- Blackfeet-
[00:22:54] Toni Bell: Blackfeet-
[00:22:55] Tracy Rector: Brother/sister powerhouse from-
[00:22:56] Toni Bell: Oh, and y'all, we had Blackfeet ... So the bison tongue was actually a- a Blackfeet [laughter] dish. Yes.
[00:23:01] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:23:02] Toni Bell: So, yeah. Traditional. I learned that last night from Ivan. [laughs]
[00:23:06] Tracy Rector: It was pretty cool, wasn't it?
[00:23:06] Toni Bell: Yeah. Yeah, it was very good.
[00:23:07] Tracy Rector: And tasty.
[00:23:08] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:23:08] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:23:09] Toni Bell: Thinking about it this morning when I woke up. Oh, tho- so the- just a side note. So, uh, after we had our, our dinner, there was some dudes, you know, doing their fire thing, cave man, out on the grill. And so they were grilling bread and, and making essentially, like, I guess, uh, grilled cheese sandwiches [laughing], the equivalent, what we would call. But with, like, the, um, with, like, good, really, really good bread and, like, with, and buttered, and then with the various meats. 'Cause we had- so we had some venison and we had some of the bison meat. And they made, like, for me, they made it a bison tongue and, um, mushroom sandwich, which was amazing.
[00:23:45] Tracy Rector: Holy-
[00:23:45] Toni Bell: Yeah, on the grill. It was-
[00:23:47] Tracy Rector: Wow.
[00:23:47] Toni Bell: ... so good! It was so good! So I woke up thinking about that this morning. But, of course, I have no bison tongue right now. But anyway, so tell us about Ivan and Ivy. [laughs]
[00:23:57] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:23:57] Toni Bell: McDonald. Yeah.
[00:23:59] Tracy Rector: Um, so I was here at Big Sky-
[00:24:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:03] Tracy Rector: ... five or six years ago and I was on the panel and Ivy approached me to do a story, a journalism story for her school. She was in film school at the time.
[00:24:11] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:12] Tracy Rector: And I just recognized a, you know, a powerful being before me. And kept in touch. And as Fourth World began developing, just invited Ivy in-
[00:24:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:24] Tracy Rector: ... at first. But through inviting Ivy in to that circle, got to know her brother, Ivan, who was also at the time, the liaison for the festival and is currently the-
[00:24:33] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:34] Tracy Rector: ... Indigenous liaison for the festival. And so Ivy stuck through, you know, two years of Fourth World-
[00:24:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:42] Tracy Rector: Um, Fourth World's templated but it's not strict in the sense that you're in one year and then you're out the next. If there's a need to continue working with someone or supporting them, they carry over. And Ivy was one of those persons that I thought it would be a great benefit to work with her an additional year.
[00:25:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:02] Tracy Rector: So when we did that, her brother kind of came into the fold as well. And so he came to Camden with us.
[00:25:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:08] Tracy Rector: And they are telling a very personal, powerful story that's reflective of the MMIW movement-
[00:25:16] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:25:16] Tracy Rector: ... or the Missing and Murdered Indigenous-
[00:25:18] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:25:18] Tracy Rector: ... Women-
[00:25:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:20] Tracy Rector: ... awareness that needs to happen.
[00:25:22] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:23] Tracy Rector: And they're very aware that they want to make it known that these are human beings that are impacted, that these are mothers, sisters, daughters. And so their story telling is about who are these women?
[00:25:36] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:37] Tracy Rector: Um, and it's powerful. And it's humane. And they just got their first, uh, diversity fund grant-
[00:25:47] Toni Bell: Yes. From ITVS?
[00:25:49] Tracy Rector: Yes, from ITVS.
[00:25:49] Toni Bell: Yeah [crosstalk 00:25:50]. Oh, we could announce that now. Okay. Yeah.
[00:25:51] Tracy Rector: Yeah. We can announce it.
[00:25:52] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:25:53] Tracy Rector: Um-
[00:25:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:54] Tracy Rector: ... but it's been great to just support them through the- you know, program and learning how to submit to these applications-
[00:26:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:03] Tracy Rector: ... thinking about what does it mean to be a producer, how to fill out the paperwork-
[00:26:06] Toni Bell: Right, right.
[00:26:07] Tracy Rector: ... and all that admin icky [laughs]-
[00:26:07] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:26:07] Tracy Rector: ... un-fun stuff that's-
[00:26:07] Toni Bell: The non-fun [crosstalk 00:26:11] filmmaking stuff. The non- that's necessary. [laughs]
[00:26:14] Tracy Rector: That's necessary.
[00:26:14] Toni Bell: But, but hateful. [laughs]
[00:26:16] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:18] Toni Bell: Oh, and then what about, um, Raven Two Feathers?
[00:26:21] Tracy Rector: Raven-
[00:26:22] Toni Bell: Yeah, Raven [crosstalk 00:26:23] got to hang out a lot at, um, in Seattle and just amazing, just an amazing personality. They mentioned that they met you when they were in high school.
[00:26:33] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:33] Toni Bell: Right?
[00:26:34] Tracy Rector: So the filmmaking program that- or fellowship they ran before Fourth World Media Lab was called Super Fly Filmmaking-
[00:26:42] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:42] Tracy Rector: ... and so Raven came through at age 16 as a high school student, um, working in our Super Fly Fellowship. And so I've just stayed in touch with Raven ever since. They're really persistent and talented and driven. So part of this year has also been creating media around what does that mean to transition as a young Indigenous person-
[00:27:04] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:05] Tracy Rector: ... because looking around, there's no materials. There's no stories-
[00:27:09] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:09] Tracy Rector: ... there's no media that they can find that's specifically related to the two-
[00:27:14] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:15] Tracy Rector: ... spirit experience of transition.
[00:27:17] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:18] Tracy Rector: And so Raven created Zine. And just had-
[00:27:22] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:27:22] Tracy Rector: ... their basically almost like, um, a coming out party on February 14th, on Valentine's Day-
[00:27:29] Toni Bell: Oh really? Oh, that's great!
[00:27:30] Tracy Rector: And premiered their Zine in front of a huge audience.
[00:27:33] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:34] Tracy Rector: And it was really great to just be in this atmosphere where they were self advocating and had control over how they wanted the world to see them and took-
[00:27:44] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:44] Tracy Rector: ... that space. But also just radiated it out to all the other young two spirit people in the-
[00:27:50] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:50] Tracy Rector: ... audience, like, it's okay to be you.
[00:27:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:52] Tracy Rector: You do you. [laughs]
[00:27:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:54] Tracy Rector: And it's good. We're-
[00:27:55] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:27:56] Tracy Rector: ... here to support and love you. And so it's been fascinating to see how Raven's used their media making skills-
[00:28:01] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:02] Tracy Rector: ... to liberate who they are in their identity-
[00:28:06] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:28:07] Tracy Rector: ... but also to open the door for other people to feel liberated in their identity.
[00:28:11] Toni Bell: Oh, that's so great. Yay, Raven!
[00:28:13] Tracy Rector: Raven! Yeah.
[00:28:16] Toni Bell: Oh, and then als- oh, and, um, JJ Neepin, who is, um, Cree-
[00:28:20] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:20] Toni Bell: ... from the north of us [laughs]-
[00:28:23] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:28:24] Toni Bell: Oh, Canada. Yeah.
[00:28:26] Tracy Rector: J-
[00:28:26] Toni Bell: JJ does [crosstalk 00:28:27] documen- yeah. Documentary and narrative as well-
[00:28:29] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:30] Toni Bell: And we kinda, we both have bonded, like, over our love for the TV show Hannibal. So [laughs]-
[00:28:35] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:35] Toni Bell: ... we talk about that on Facebook. [laughs]
[00:28:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:37] Toni Bell: We miss it. W- we want Hannibal back.
[00:28:40] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:41] Toni Bell: But anyway, tell us about JJ. [laughs]
[00:28:43] Tracy Rector: Um, JJ's legit.
[00:28:45] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:28:46] Tracy Rector: JJ is navigating the industry well. But I haven't stayed in touch with JJ as much as the other filmmakers-
[00:28:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:53] Tracy Rector: ... just simply 'cause JJ's been busy doing the work.
[00:28:55] Toni Bell: Yeah. She's working.
[00:28:56] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:28:56] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:28:57] Tracy Rector: So, um, that's really great for-
[00:28:59] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:59] Tracy Rector: ... the other filmmakers of Fourth World to see-
[00:29:01] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:29:02] Tracy Rector: ... that their, you know, colleague-
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:04] Tracy Rector: ... in the cohort's doing it.
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:04] Tracy Rector: And is a resource because of that.
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Oh wait! Wait, wait. You have a movie here. [crosstalk 00:29:13] And by here we mean we're at Big Sky. Um, so, yes. Tell us about your movie here at Big Sky. [laughs]
[00:29:05] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:05] Toni Bell: Forgot about that. You do so much, Tracy. You're doing everything. You're- you are every woman. [laughs]
[00:29:25] Tracy Rector: [laughs] Can you cut that into this, the song?
[00:29:30] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:31] Tracy Rector: As part of it- yeah.
[00:29:31] Toni Bell: Well, I don't know if we could-
[00:29:32] Tracy Rector: Or can you sing it?
[00:29:33] Toni Bell: ... we could pay- I don't know if we got the money to pay Whitney.
[00:29:35] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:35] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:29:36] Or her estate.
[00:29:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:37] Toni Bell: But we, we could talk- we could figure it out. We could research it. [laughs]
[00:29:45] Tracy Rector: [laughs] Um, yeah. So I was the impact producer for Dawnland, an amazing film-
[00:29:48] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:49] Tracy Rector: ... that came out in 2018.
[00:29:50] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:29:51] Tracy Rector: And one of the elders in that story who is just-
[00:29:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:55] Tracy Rector: ... her name's Georgina, uh, who's just a spitfire, an amazing, um, vulnerable strong individual, we decided to tell just a short-
[00:30:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:06] Tracy Rector: ... story about her and her search for her identity. And so Dear Georgina's playing at-
[00:30:12] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:30:12] Tracy Rector: ... the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. And it premiered at Camden, actually.
[00:30:17] Toni Bell: Okay, great.
[00:30:18] Tracy Rector: So, uh, we're just-
[00:30:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:19] Tracy Rector: ... still early in our-
[00:30:20] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:20] Tracy Rector: ... festival run. But it was, uh, really beautiful to see Georgina watch herself-
[00:30:26] Toni Bell: Mm. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:28] Tracy Rector: ... and her words after the screening was, "Everyone needs to share their story because that's how you heal."
[00:30:35] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:30:35] Tracy Rector: I was like-
[00:30:36] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:30:36] Tracy Rector: ... oh ...
[00:30:38] Toni Bell: There you go.
[00:30:38] Tracy Rector: And just to have her seal-
[00:30:39] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:30:39] Tracy Rector: ... of approval ... Yeah.
[00:30:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:41] Tracy Rector: Um, that was beautiful. Um-
[00:30:45] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:30:46] Tracy Rector: The programming here at Big Sky I think is brilliant. It was programmed with a slate of other films. And the through line was about family separation.
[00:30:56] Toni Bell: Mm. Okay.
[00:30:57] Tracy Rector: And you would, you know, first thought you would look at the films and not think that they really go well together.
[00:31:03] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:31:03] Tracy Rector: But it was brilliant. It was a-
[00:31:06] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:31:06] Tracy Rector: ... brilliant emotional package. So it was-
[00:31:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:31:08] Tracy Rector: ... an honor to be paired with the other films in our block.
[00:31:12] Toni Bell: Great.
[00:31:13] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:31:14] Toni Bell: All right. Well, thank you, Tracy for being our-
[00:31:17] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:31:17] Toni Bell: ... first guest.
[00:31:18] Tracy Rector: Thank you, what an [crosstalk 00:31:19] honor! That's amazing.
[00:31:20] Toni Bell: Yeah. So, um-
[00:31:23] Tracy Rector: Can I say one thing?
[00:31:24] Toni Bell: Yes, please. Please speak-
[00:31:25] Tracy Rector: Um, I just wanna acknowledge that we are gathering here on the lands of the Kalispel and Salish peoples-
[00:31:30] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:31:31] Tracy Rector: ... as well as- it's a gathering place for many nations but we want to also say thank you to the Blackfeet Nation for their help in Fourth World Media here at Big Sky.
[00:31:48] Toni Bell: We are truly living in a new world. This crisis we're going through will hopefully leave us in a place to embrace a new normal and will allow us to never take for granted the time we spend together. As Tracy says, there is medicine in gathering together in person, sharing story, and talking story. These are revolutionary acts.
[00:32:06] And lastly, the What's Up with Docs podcast would like to offer our condolences to Tracy and her family at the loss of their father, Samuel Lee Rector. His passing is a reminder for us all to take the time to sit with our parents and grandparents and encourage them to share their stories and wisdom. We dedicate our inaugural episode to him.
[00:32:30] Thank you so much for listening today. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on all your podcast platforms. Visit our website at whatsupwdocs.com, that's whatsupwdocs.com. And make sure to sign up for our mailing list to get the latest show news. And you can find us on Facebook and Instagram @whatsupwdocs. Again that's whatsupwdocs. And remember, keep telling your stories.
[00:33:01] Today's program was hosted by Toni Bell and produced and edited by Ranell Schubert. Music is by Sierra Thomas.
[00:33:34] Felipe Contrera...: Hey everyone, Felipe again. What a healing conversation. I always appreciate hearing about how stories can be healing and medicine. Tracy's perspective on film and on life is much needed in these spaces and I'm glad there is a show like this one that brings those stories to light. I want to thank What's Up with Docs, who have been a Seedcast friend from the start, mentioning us in their podcasts and sharing our new episodes as they come out. We're proud to support back.
[00:34:05] I hope you enjoyed this episode too. It was originally released in June of 2020. You can find What's Up with Docs wherever you listen to podcasts. The next one's on September 10th. It features Ann Keneko and Jin Yoo-Kim discussing their latest film and, to no surprise to hear, that Tracy Rector's the Executive Producer. Like what you hear? Well then visit their website, whatsupwithdocs.com and click the button to support the podcast.
[00:34:34] If there are other podcasts that you're listening to or making that center the lives of Indigenous people and are made by Indigenous people, please send them our way. Email us at seedcast@niatero.org or connect with us on social media @niatero. We'd love to hear from you.
[00:34:51] Nia Tero is a Seattle based foundation where both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples with a mission to secure Indigenous guardianship of all vital ecosystems. What that means, well, that means we provide support to Indigenous peoples globally who are protecting their homelands from colonization and destruction. Their practices are one of the best guides for making earth livable for humans and other species for generations to come.
[00:35:18] Our Senior Producer is Jenny Asarnow. Our fact checker is Roman Lee Johnson. Our Marketing Manager is Julie Keck. Our Social Media Manager is Hannah Pantaleo. Our Executive Producer is Tracy Rector. Our host is Jessica Ramirez. Our theme song is Buy Me a Cami. I'm Seedcast producer and your guest host for today, Felipe Contreras. We'll be back with original Seedcast episodes in a couple of weeks. Thanks for listening.
[00:36:19] Theme Song: [singing]
[00:00:19] Theme Song: [singing]
[00:00:40] Felipe Contreras...: As you may know, reciprocity is a core value here at Seedcast. And so every now and then we share podcasts that we are in relationship with. And we want you to hear about. So I'm here to share the What's Up with Docs podcast. What's Up with Docs is the documentary podcast for all of us. It's hosted by Tony Bell and produced by Ranell Schubert. The podcast is about documentaries. It takes you from the concept to screen and highlights why representation matters.
[00:01:13] At Seedcast we believe that stories have the power to support the rights and traditional ways of Indigenous people. So if you're Indigenous and looking to turn your stories into films or just interesting in learning more about emerging or existing Indigenous creatives, you should check this out.
[00:01:30] This episode features Tracy Rector. She's our Executive Producer of Seedcast and Managing Director of Storytelling at Nia Tero. Tracy talks about our work. She has 20 years of experience as a filmmaker. She's produced over 400 films. She's an educator, a film programmer, and an arts curator. But her origins are in plant medicine. The conversation took place in February 2020 at the Big Sky Film Festival. It's a gathering held on the lands of the Salish and [inaudible 00:01:58] people. Toni Bell sat down with Tracy to talk about their careers leading up to that point and how they first met. They both participated in Firelight Media's Impact Producing Fellowship. Toni was a mentor in the program and Tracy was a fellow.
[00:02:11] Tracy Rector: And as you were part of the inaugural [crosstalk 00:02:13] group, right? And it was incredible.
[00:02:15] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:02:16] Tracy Rector: Really transformative-
[00:02:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:18] Tracy Rector: ... and affirming. And I think-
[00:02:20] Toni Bell: So what do you-
[00:02:21] Tracy Rector: ... got me on this path now.
[00:02:22] Toni Bell: So what do you-
[00:02:23] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:02:23] Toni Bell: ... feel like you learned as being part of that program that you didn't know before?
[00:02:29] Tracy Rector: They really emphasized with everyone it's okay to be you and to tell your stories. And it's okay to be in community. And it's okay to talk about the hard stuff we experience.
[00:02:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:41] Tracy Rector: But also maybe the things we unintentionally, you know, impose upon one another just-
[00:02:49] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:02:49] Tracy Rector: ... you know, lateral oppressions the-
[00:02:51] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:02:52] Oh, talk about that.
[00:02:54] Tracy Rector: You know, I think especially as POC filmmakers, as women-
[00:02:58] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:02:59] Tracy Rector: ... um, you know, we're- we make up such a minority in the media making industry-
[00:03:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:05] Tracy Rector: ... that there's just a lot of, uh, imposed restrictions on us and competitions and ways that we have to fight through all these barriers and gatekeepers. And-
[00:03:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:16] Tracy Rector: ... sometimes we do that to one another just because we're trying to survive in this industry, unknowingly or knowingly-
[00:03:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:24] Tracy Rector: And they just made space to talk about some of this stuff so you can unpack it and actually address it. And, um, I would say decolonize or-
[00:03:34] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:35] Tracy Rector: ... indigenize or deconstruct, you know, all these ways of, yeah, these lenses that are placed on the work that we do-
[00:03:42] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:03:43] Tracy Rector: ... [crosstalk 00:03:44] and these methodologies that don't really necessarily serve us a POC-
[00:03:47] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:48] Tracy Rector: ... filmmakers.
[00:03:49] Toni Bell: Because it's not how we see and- and interact in the world.
[00:03:53] Tracy Rector: Not inherently. And-
[00:03:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:54] Tracy Rector: ... especially in the Indigenous community-
[00:03:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:03:56] Tracy Rector: And I'm a mixed race filmmaker so I bring to the table a number of different viewpoints and life experiences. But from my own personal life experience, I don't experience Indigenous communities being as competitive. I experience-
[00:04:14] Toni Bell: Mm. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:15] Tracy Rector: ... us in general, and our value systems, to be more collaborative and community minded. So yeah. So that's-
[00:04:21] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:04:21] Tracy Rector: ... it's the- the imposition of the values of the broader-
[00:04:25] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:26] Tracy Rector: ... like, media industry-
[00:04:28] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:04:29] Tracy Rector: ... and inherently not Indigenous values.
[00:04:32] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:04:32] Tracy Rector: And so, just thinking through some of that with that sp- you know, within that space of Firelight was amazing.
[00:04:38] Toni Bell: Right. I don't know if you remember, like, but during that, um, during that weekend they were screening, um, uh, they were s- they- showing cuts from a film and I forget the ... I think it was called Do Not Resist. Um, and, um, in the film it was essentially, there's this long sequence of, you have police in paramilitary, um, gear and then long sequences of, like-
[00:05:03] Tracy Rector: [crosstalk 00:05:04]
[00:05:04] Toni Bell: ... Black person after Black person after Black person being shot by the cops.
[00:05:07] Tracy Rector: Field of Vision.
[00:05:08] Toni Bell: Field of Vision. Yeah. And I rem- distinctly remembering, um-
[00:05:13] Tracy Rector: Lauda-
[00:05:14] Toni Bell: ... Lauda [laughing] Limble, she actually got up and she stopped. She stopped, she, she cut off the tape. And she addressed the fact that a lot of us in the room were triggered. And we actually had a conversation-
[00:05:30] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:05:30] Toni Bell: ... about that then and there. And, for me, that was just so incredibly powerful to witness and experience. Because I'm- for me, I'm, I'm, I'm good about knowing what my triggers were but, like, at that moment, I didn't realize I was triggered-
[00:05:44] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:05:44] Toni Bell: But when she said it, I'm like, okay. I looked around and everybody kind of had, like, this glassy eye-
[00:05:48] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:05:48] Toni Bell: ... about. And we were, like, a lot of people were kind of- ha- were in a dissociative state. And the fact that we were in a space where that could be called out and we could talk about it right then and there was so incredible. And really, for me, solidified like what is different about Firelight.
[00:06:07] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:06:07] Toni Bell: And, and the work- and the work that they do.
[00:06:09] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:06:10] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:06:10] Tracy Rector: That was a powerful moment.
[00:06:11] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:06:12] Tracy Rector: I agree. Because-
[00:06:12] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:13] Tracy Rector: ... they made space to dive into that conversation.
[00:06:16] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:06:17] Tracy Rector: And to not only dive in and facilitate a good conversation-
[00:06:21] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:21] Tracy Rector: ... but also they closed it out well too. So we-
[00:06:24] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:06:24] Tracy Rector: ... weren't just leaving vulnerable and traumatized but-
[00:06:27] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:27] Tracy Rector: ... we had some tools to think about what just happened-
[00:06:29] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:06:30] Tracy Rector: ... when we left the room.
[00:06:31] Toni Bell: And everybody was given an opportunity to just si- say their piece and what they felt. And a lot of people stood up and just- there's a power to being, being heard.
[00:06:41] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:06:41] Toni Bell: You know? Being validated and essentially having- being borne witness-
[00:06:47] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:06:47] Toni Bell: ... to. I don't know if I'm saying that correctly. But yeah. But I see that in a lot of the work that you've, um, done with Fourth Media. And, um, I- you invited me to be, be a mentor for the last year's group in Seattle and it was such an amazing, powerful, um, experience for me. Um, even though I'm not Native American. I'm African American. So I have my, my own identities. But for me, in so many ways, it just solidified the why people- why individual groups need their own spaces where they're being nurtured. And I was-
[00:07:20] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:07:20] Toni Bell: ... just remembering back, um, to last- it was Memorial Day weekend. It was my birthday weekend. And I- you took such, such good care of us because-
[00:07:30] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:07:31] Toni Bell: ... you took care of all of our transportation. And you had people telling us where to go. And she even brought us bag lunches.
[00:07:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:07:38] Toni Bell: And it's like, okay. Here's your lunch. I'm like, oh my god. Like I feel like I'm just like in kindergarten. Then Tracy's just gonna, like, tell me where to go. And I remember when I got back to LA, I w- I was thinking like, oh my god. I don't know what to do. Like I had to-
[00:07:49] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:07:49] Toni Bell: ... [laughing] do- had to do my life now. But, but it- and I was thinking about that experience, like just how nurturing and supportive it was. Like I really began to understand that you were- you were trying to create a space for these artists to just, like, create their art.
[00:08:05] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:06] Toni Bell: And to be purposeful about the work they do. So, like, how did you come to that? Like how did you know to c- that, that space is needed? Particularly in a world where people who, like us, who are trying to create art, or have, like, so many things on our plate and, um, have so many responsibilities-
[00:08:26] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:27] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:08:28] Tracy Rector: Well I just think in my own life experience as, you know, a mixed race woman, I feel oftentimes a lot of the work I burden and carry and shoulder just incredible responsibilities at all times. And that's not unusual-
[00:08:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:45] Tracy Rector: ... for us as women, as women of color, as Indigenous women. We are the matriarchs. We're the sisters. We're the mothers. We're the daughters. We're the housekeepers. We're the bread winners.
[00:08:57] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:08:57] Tracy Rector: We're the community organizers. We're doing the work.
[00:09:01] Toni Bell: Yeah. We're every woman-
[00:09:02] Tracy Rector: All the time. Yes.
[00:09:04] Toni Bell: Whitney Houston.
[00:09:04] Tracy Rector: Yes! Whitney Houston.
[00:09:06] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:09:06] Tracy Rector: And, um, you know, I think about Fourth World Media Lab. I wanted to create a space where we, as a group, can do the work. The cohort can do the work-
[00:09:18] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:18] Tracy Rector: ... of being a filmmaker, of learning, or having not to shoulder responsibilities. Of not having to think about the outside world-
[00:09:27] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:28] Tracy Rector: ... for just a brief moment, knowing that their needs will be taken care of and that they're well thought of.
[00:09:34] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:09:34] Tracy Rector: And that, um, they can just let go and-
[00:09:38] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:38] Tracy Rector: ... learn. And not multi-task every second. And just truly be present. And that's something I see, you know, I, I think of the gaps that occur for Indigenous filmmaking because people are holding down so many different jobs-
[00:09:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:09:53] Tracy Rector: ... so many different roles. Just so much. How can we go to that next stage of learning and skill building to better ourselves in our career? So I just wanted to-
[00:10:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:03] Tracy Rector: ... be able to provide, you know, within the work of Fourth World Media Lab that realization that it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to be taken care of. It's okay-
[00:10:12] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:12] Tracy Rector: ... to be in community. And to treat yourself to just learning and enjoying-
[00:10:17] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:10:17] Tracy Rector: ... and being present.
[00:10:18] Toni Bell: Yeah. But you- I think you did a, a great job of that. You know, and I was there as, like, part of the facilitation team. And I, I felt very [laughing] taken care of.
[00:10:28] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:10:28] Toni Bell: And it, it was great. Um, so I actually wanted to just kind of chat about some of your non-filmmaking work 'cause you have-
[00:10:35] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:10:35] Toni Bell: ... a Wikipedia page.
[00:10:36] Tracy Rector: I do?
[00:10:36] Toni Bell: You do. Yeah, you do. You haven't seen it?
[00:10:38] Tracy Rector: Really?
[00:10:39] Toni Bell: Yes!
[00:10:42] Tracy Rector: No. [laughs]
[00:10:42] Toni Bell: You do [laughing].
[00:10:43] Tracy Rector: I haven't seen it.
[00:10:43] Toni Bell: Oh! You need to go to your Wikipedia page. It's, it's very nice.
[00:10:47] Tracy Rector: Is it good?
[00:10:48] Toni Bell: Oh yeah, it's good! Yeah.
[00:10:48] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:10:49] Toni Bell: But, like, I was surprised by all the non- like non-filmmaking stuff that you do. So, like, your work with the Seattle Arts Commission and, like, your work as an educational consultant, and as a native naturalist. So can you talk a little bit about that?
[00:11:01] Tracy Rector: Oh wow. That's-
[00:11:02] Toni Bell: Yeah. 'Cause-
[00:11:02] Tracy Rector: ... so funny.
[00:11:03] Toni Bell: Yeah! You didn't-
[00:11:04] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:11:05] Toni Bell: ... check it out when we're done. [laughs]
[00:11:07] Tracy Rector: It speaks to how busy I am.
[00:11:08] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:11:09] I know, right? You don't have time to look yourself-
[00:11:11] Tracy Rector: Google myself-
[00:11:12] Toni Bell: ... up. [crosstalk 00:11:13] You have a life.
[00:11:14] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:11:14] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:11:17] Tracy Rector: Um, let's see. Well, I, I guess how I got into filmmaking was with my interest in natural medicine. And-
[00:11:23] Toni Bell: Oh, okay.
[00:11:24] Tracy Rector: ... so I was working in the Skokomish Reservation for Bruce Miller and PBS wanted to do a story about him.
[00:11:31] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:31] Tracy Rector: And he said, "You can, only if you have a native intern. Because our people need to learn the skills to tell our own stories."
[00:11:39] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:39] Tracy Rector: And I was working in, uh, compost at the time, in the garden, his garden. And, um-
[00:11:46] Toni Bell: So wait. So what- you were, like, teaching how to compost? Or-
[00:11:48] Tracy Rector: No. I was learning.
[00:11:49] Toni Bell: You were learning?
[00:11:50] Tracy Rector: I was a student.
[00:11:50] Toni Bell: Oh, okay, okay.
[00:11:51] Tracy Rector: I was learning about-
[00:11:52] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:11:53] Tracy Rector: ... traditional gardening and plant medicine. And I was-
[00:11:57] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:11:57] Tracy Rector: ... really interested at that time in compost and how-
[00:12:01] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:01] Tracy Rector: ... that- you know, it makes sense. I'm gonna jump into compost-
[00:12:03] Toni Bell: Yeah, go 'head.
[00:12:04] Tracy Rector: ... for a second.
[00:12:04] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:12:04] Tracy Rector: So compost is this creation of, you know, bringing all these different components together-
[00:12:11] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:11] Tracy Rector: ... to break down and reemerge into something new that's nurturing.
[00:12:15] Toni Bell: Oh-
[00:12:16] Tracy Rector: And in a way I feel like that is the foundation of my work, is I love bringing people together-
[00:12:22] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:22] Tracy Rector: ... to create something new that's gonna benefit even more people.
[00:12:26] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:12:27] Tracy Rector: Um, anyway, so through that-
[00:12:30] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:30] Tracy Rector: ... uh, experience, I was asked by him and one of the, uh, professors at Evergreen who knew that I was interested in education of native youth, if I would be interested in being on the film project. And at the time I was like, "Who me?" Like I'm working in dirt-
[00:12:49] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:12:49] Tracy Rector: I have- I have no idea or concept or even interest at the time-
[00:12:55] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:12:56] Tracy Rector: ... in media. Um, but one of the lessons I've learned in how I was raised is when the elder asks you to do something, you say yes.
[00:13:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:05] Tracy Rector: And so I trusted that instinct. And I said yes. And that was almost 20 years ago.
[00:13:11] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:13:12] Tracy Rector: Um, I jumped in. It wa- and that was Teachings of the Tree People.
[00:13:17] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:17] Tracy Rector: Yeah. Teachings of the Tree People. That was my first project. And it was an incredibly generous crew-
[00:13:24] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:24] Tracy Rector: ... um, that allowed me to grow and truly fall in love with the process of filmmaking and-
[00:13:29] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:30] Tracy Rector: ... story telling. And then I just took it forward from there. And Bruce Miller is just- two days before he passed on, we showed him the final film for his-
[00:13:40] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:13:40] Tracy Rector: ... sign off and approval. And he-
[00:13:42] Toni Bell: Mm- mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:42] Tracy Rector: ... looked at me and he said, "It's up to you to take this knowledge forward." And-
[00:13:47] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:13:48] Tracy Rector: ... I took that to heart. You know?
[00:13:50] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:50] Tracy Rector: It's, um, this isn't knowledge that's just for me as an individual but-
[00:13:55] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:13:55] Tracy Rector: ... it's a knowledge for the wider community. So yeah.
[00:13:58] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:13:58] Tracy Rector: So I've done a lot in life. It started-
[00:14:01] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:14:01] Tracy Rector: ... with traditional medicine-
[00:14:03] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:03] Tracy Rector: ... and, um, went into filmmaking. But also that thread of the natural world has always been part of what I do. So-
[00:14:10] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:11] Tracy Rector: ... I created curriculum and signage at the, um, Seattle Art Museum for-
[00:14:16] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:16] Tracy Rector: ... their sculpture park that identified natural plants.
[00:14:20] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:14:20] Tracy Rector: I've worked with youth. I've done a lot of art curation now. And now in my role as Managing Director at Nia Tero-
[00:14:28] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:29] Tracy Rector: ... we're committed to working with Indigenous peoples in relationship to the environment and culture. So the environment-
[00:14:35] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:14:35] Tracy Rector: ... is still very much-
[00:14:36] Toni Bell: It's still part of it.
[00:14:37] Tracy Rector: ... part of everything I do. Yeah.
[00:14:38] Toni Bell: So, um, Nia- your work at Nia Tero is your new job.
[00:14:42] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:42] Toni Bell: And I remember you- we were talking about it, um, at Sundance and you were saying- you were so excited because you have, like, all native staff.
[00:14:49] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:50] Toni Bell: And some of them I already knew. Like some of them were Fourth World Media people. And-
[00:14:54] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:14:54] Toni Bell: ... but, like, you were just giddy about that. And I love that. [laughs]
[00:14:57] Tracy Rector: It's pretty awesome.
[00:14:58] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah. So tell us about, um, Nia Tero. I know we learned a little bit about it, um, last night. So, um, Ranell Schubert is here with me. She's the producer. She's over here doing her silent thing making sure everything is being recorded.
[00:15:10] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:15:11] Toni Bell: But, um, we went to this amazing, um, fellowship dinner for the Nia Tero fellows as well as the Fourth World Media Lab fellows. And had amazing food. And, um, Mia ... What was Mia's last name?
[00:15:24] Tracy Rector: Mia Kami.
[00:15:25] Toni Bell: Mia Kami from Fiji, um, she actually sang two beautiful songs. And one of the songs, I'm completely paraphrasing, but also our host who was ... What was his name?
[00:15:36] Tracy Rector: Chris-
[00:15:37] Toni Bell: Chris.
[00:15:37] Tracy Rector: ... Filardi.
[00:15:37] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah, Chris. Yes. Um, restated it. Um, and the quote was, essentially, when we look at ourselves as individuals, like, what kind of ancestor do you want to be? That that's the question.
[00:15:50] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:15:50] Toni Bell: Like what kind of ancestor do you want to be? Like I- the way I looked at it- that's why I'm looking at it at the long, the long game. I'm looking at it how, as to how, like, the people who become ... I don't have children. But, like, the people who essentially would be, like, the age of my grandchildren, my great grandchildren-
[00:16:07] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:16:07] Toni Bell: ... like how- what they- how they would benefit. Because that's how I feel like my ancestors looked- looked at- saw me, you know? 'Cause when you think about my great- [inaudible 00:16:17] my great, great, great, great ... I don't know. Well, multiple great grandmother, you know, grandparents were, were enslaved.
[00:16:23] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:16:23] Toni Bell: And at a time when there was, like, no hope for freedom. But, you know, they dreamed of freedom. And they weren't thinking about it for, for themselves. They were thinking about it for me. Um, so I'm getting-
[00:16:34] Tracy Rector: Oh-
[00:16:34] Toni Bell: ... I'm getting a little teary.
[00:16:35] Tracy Rector: That's beautiful.
[00:16:36] Toni Bell: Um, so when, uh, Mia sang what kind of ancestor do you want to be and Chris kind of reiterated it, but they kind of extended it, like, to seven, to eight generations, and that just kinda gave- that just gives me chills. And I think that's how we have to think about the world because I- I feel like I'm gonna be doing things in the world that people who come after me and after me who I'll never know will benefit from. And Nia Tero seems to be fostering that. So tell us what-
[00:17:07] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:07] Toni Bell: ... it is and-
[00:17:08] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:17:09] Toni Bell: ... I won't cry over here.
[00:17:10] Tracy Rector: Yeah. [laughs]
[00:17:10] Toni Bell: And [inaudible 00:17:11] [laughing] I get teary but ...
[00:17:13] Tracy Rector: Yeah. No, thank you for that-
[00:17:15] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:17:15] Tracy Rector: ... for sharing that moment-
[00:17:17] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:17] Tracy Rector: ... that's powerful.
[00:17:18] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:17:18] Tracy Rector: Um, Nia Tero was birthed by a group of people led by Peter Seligmann. And he initially founded Conservation International and was there for many decades. And as his retirement project [laughing] he's like, "What can I do different?" And, um, learned about the statistic that 80% of all biodiversity is on Indigenous held territories.
[00:17:46] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:17:46] Tracy Rector: And that the world is healthiest where Indigenous peoples are actively living and thriving and being in community.
[00:17:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:55] Tracy Rector: Doesn't that blow your mind?
[00:17:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:17:57] Tracy Rector: And for him, he was just like, "People gotta know about this. This is-
[00:18:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:02] Tracy Rector: ... essential in saving the health of our planet." And so he started Nia Tero with that in mind. And again, we work alongside Indigenous peoples-
[00:18:13] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:13] Tracy Rector: ... in relationship to the environment and culture. And part of that work is helping people secure their territories and-
[00:18:21] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:18:22] Tracy Rector: ... protect-
[00:18:22] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:18:22] Tracy Rector: ... um, their inalienable rights to be in place.
[00:18:25] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:27] Tracy Rector: And it's been an interesting, amazing journey because when I started, they were barely two years old.
[00:18:34] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:35] Tracy Rector: So it's a start up organization.
[00:18:35] Toni Bell: Oh- okay.
[00:18:37] Tracy Rector: And we're a global organization.
[00:18:39] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:40] Tracy Rector: And we're a diverse organization. So around half of all the staff are Indigenous-
[00:18:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:45] Tracy Rector: ... and half are non-indigenous.
[00:18:47] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:47] Tracy Rector: So there's all this foundational work that we're doing too to figure out our identity, our working practices-
[00:18:52] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:18:54] Tracy Rector: ... how do we communicate as a global, diverse staff-
[00:18:58] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:18:58] Tracy Rector: ... who are in service to Indigenous peoples and earth.
[00:19:02] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:03] Tracy Rector: And so it's really dynamic. It's very exciting. Although there are-
[00:19:07] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:19:07] Tracy Rector: ... these ways that we know we wanna head-
[00:19:10] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:10] Tracy Rector: ... but we're also just in this question asking period. What-
[00:19:14] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:14] Tracy Rector: ... do communities need from us?
[00:19:16] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:19:16] Tracy Rector: What's most effective? When I came in as the-
[00:19:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:19] Tracy Rector: ... Managing Director of Story Telling, I brought with me an intense passion-
[00:19:24] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:24] Tracy Rector: ... for amplifying Indigenous voices-
[00:19:26] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:27] Tracy Rector: ... uplifting Indigenous community and creating networks, being able to have our story telling fellowship and the Fourth World Fellowship-
[00:19:34] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:35] Tracy Rector: ... now that's part of Nia Tero too-
[00:19:37] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:37] Tracy Rector: ... um, is a huge godsend because, for me, that's what it's about. It's about creating capacity-
[00:19:44] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:44] Tracy Rector: ... building skills, bringing people together so then they can also share with one another-
[00:19:50] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:19:50] Tracy Rector: ... and build out into their communities.
[00:19:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:53] Tracy Rector: So-
[00:19:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:19:53] Tracy Rector: ... sharing power and amplifying power. So, um, story telling fellows, uh, they come from all different types of story telling so-
[00:20:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:02] Tracy Rector: ... you know, whether it be film, traditional-
[00:20:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:05] Tracy Rector: ... tattoo, uh-
[00:20:06] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:20:07] Tracy Rector: ... performance-
[00:20:07] Toni Bell: Cool. All right.
[00:20:08] Tracy Rector: ... song-
[00:20:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:09] Tracy Rector: ... photography. And Fourth World Fellows is strictly filmmaking. And it's filmmakers-
[00:20:14] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:20:14] Tracy Rector: ... who have some amount of lived experience as a filmmaker, at least two years.
[00:20:19] Toni Bell: Okay. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:20] Tracy Rector: And so that's a cohort that is really dedicated to building their skills.
[00:20:24] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:20:25] Tracy Rector: And building out their ability to navigate the-
[00:20:28] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:28] Tracy Rector: ... you know, yeah, the media world [laughs]-
[00:20:31] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:20:31] Tracy Rector: ... industry.
[00:20:32] Toni Bell: Right. So, um, I, I know you explained last night for- but for those who don't know, tell us how you came up with the world- uh, the name Fourth World Media Lab-
[00:20:40] Tracy Rector: Yeah. So Fourth World Media ... So I began that fellowship six years ago-
[00:20:45] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:46] Tracy Rector: ... in Coast Salish Territory-
[00:20:48] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:20:48] Tracy Rector: ... Seattle, Washington. And in starting this new fellowship and then thinking about the intentions of it, I felt that it was important to ask an elder what an appropriate name would be.
[00:20:59] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:00] Tracy Rector: And I talked to a man and he told me this story about Fourth World, which is a time when Mother Earth finds herself in deep pain and humans have imposed much tragedy and harm on the environment. And it's a time when the stories of Indigenous peoples will be called upon for healing.
[00:21:20] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:20] Tracy Rector: And so that was just ... That gives me chills right now even to think about-
[00:21:26] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:21:26] Tracy Rector: ... that moment and understanding the power of story telling. And it seemed like the perfect name for this filmmaking fellowship-
[00:21:35] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:35] Tracy Rector: ... to acknowledge, you know, this skill set in these individuals is about creating medicine and healing for the future.
[00:21:42] Toni Bell: Right. So d- do you view, um ... You- do you see filmmaking as medicine? Well, story telling-
[00:21:48] Tracy Rector: Absolutely.
[00:21:49] Toni Bell: ... as medicine? Yeah.
[00:21:49] Tracy Rector: Yeah. And that- I guess that relates to my beginnings in the garden-
[00:21:53] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:21:54] Tracy Rector: ... it's just- it's all full circle.
[00:21:56] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:21:56] Tracy Rector: Um, I see gathering together as powerful medicine, sharing story, talking story, learning from one another is revolutionary. And just the act of sharing story is a process for healing for a lot of filmmakers too.
[00:22:12] Toni Bell: Yes. It [crosstalk 00:22:14] goes back to that space of, you know, being seen and heard-
[00:22:16] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:22:17] Toni Bell: ... you know, and bearing witness to one another.
[00:22:19] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:22:19] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:20] Tracy Rector: Oh yeah.
[00:22:20] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:21] Tracy Rector: And that has to happen in a safe space-
[00:22:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:22:24] Tracy Rector: ... I feel, um, in order to take that ability to navigate the industry to the next level.
[00:22:32] Toni Bell: Right. Right. So I wanted to talk about some of the, um, folks I met, like, last year who, uh ... And I know, uh- and th- I'm not leaving anybody out intentionally, but these are, like, people who have just kind of like stuck with me.
[00:22:45] Tracy Rector: Mm.
[00:22:45] Toni Bell: Um, so, um, Ivy and Ivan McDonald.
[00:22:48] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:22:49] Toni Bell: Yes. Talk about that brother/sister powerhouse team-
[00:22:52] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Tracy Rector: Brother- Blackfeet-
[00:22:54] Toni Bell: Blackfeet-
[00:22:55] Tracy Rector: Brother/sister powerhouse from-
[00:22:56] Toni Bell: Oh, and y'all, we had Blackfeet ... So the bison tongue was actually a- a Blackfeet [laughter] dish. Yes.
[00:23:01] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:23:02] Toni Bell: So, yeah. Traditional. I learned that last night from Ivan. [laughs]
[00:23:06] Tracy Rector: It was pretty cool, wasn't it?
[00:23:06] Toni Bell: Yeah. Yeah, it was very good.
[00:23:07] Tracy Rector: And tasty.
[00:23:08] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:23:08] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:23:09] Toni Bell: Thinking about it this morning when I woke up. Oh, tho- so the- just a side note. So, uh, after we had our, our dinner, there was some dudes, you know, doing their fire thing, cave man, out on the grill. And so they were grilling bread and, and making essentially, like, I guess, uh, grilled cheese sandwiches [laughing], the equivalent, what we would call. But with, like, the, um, with, like, good, really, really good bread and, like, with, and buttered, and then with the various meats. 'Cause we had- so we had some venison and we had some of the bison meat. And they made, like, for me, they made it a bison tongue and, um, mushroom sandwich, which was amazing.
[00:23:45] Tracy Rector: Holy-
[00:23:45] Toni Bell: Yeah, on the grill. It was-
[00:23:47] Tracy Rector: Wow.
[00:23:47] Toni Bell: ... so good! It was so good! So I woke up thinking about that this morning. But, of course, I have no bison tongue right now. But anyway, so tell us about Ivan and Ivy. [laughs]
[00:23:57] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:23:57] Toni Bell: McDonald. Yeah.
[00:23:59] Tracy Rector: Um, so I was here at Big Sky-
[00:24:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:03] Tracy Rector: ... five or six years ago and I was on the panel and Ivy approached me to do a story, a journalism story for her school. She was in film school at the time.
[00:24:11] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:12] Tracy Rector: And I just recognized a, you know, a powerful being before me. And kept in touch. And as Fourth World began developing, just invited Ivy in-
[00:24:23] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:24] Tracy Rector: ... at first. But through inviting Ivy in to that circle, got to know her brother, Ivan, who was also at the time, the liaison for the festival and is currently the-
[00:24:33] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:34] Tracy Rector: ... Indigenous liaison for the festival. And so Ivy stuck through, you know, two years of Fourth World-
[00:24:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:24:42] Tracy Rector: Um, Fourth World's templated but it's not strict in the sense that you're in one year and then you're out the next. If there's a need to continue working with someone or supporting them, they carry over. And Ivy was one of those persons that I thought it would be a great benefit to work with her an additional year.
[00:25:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:02] Tracy Rector: So when we did that, her brother kind of came into the fold as well. And so he came to Camden with us.
[00:25:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:08] Tracy Rector: And they are telling a very personal, powerful story that's reflective of the MMIW movement-
[00:25:16] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:25:16] Tracy Rector: ... or the Missing and Murdered Indigenous-
[00:25:18] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:25:18] Tracy Rector: ... Women-
[00:25:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:20] Tracy Rector: ... awareness that needs to happen.
[00:25:22] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative]. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:23] Tracy Rector: And they're very aware that they want to make it known that these are human beings that are impacted, that these are mothers, sisters, daughters. And so their story telling is about who are these women?
[00:25:36] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:37] Tracy Rector: Um, and it's powerful. And it's humane. And they just got their first, uh, diversity fund grant-
[00:25:47] Toni Bell: Yes. From ITVS?
[00:25:49] Tracy Rector: Yes, from ITVS.
[00:25:49] Toni Bell: Yeah [crosstalk 00:25:50]. Oh, we could announce that now. Okay. Yeah.
[00:25:51] Tracy Rector: Yeah. We can announce it.
[00:25:52] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:25:53] Tracy Rector: Um-
[00:25:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:25:54] Tracy Rector: ... but it's been great to just support them through the- you know, program and learning how to submit to these applications-
[00:26:02] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:03] Tracy Rector: ... thinking about what does it mean to be a producer, how to fill out the paperwork-
[00:26:06] Toni Bell: Right, right.
[00:26:07] Tracy Rector: ... and all that admin icky [laughs]-
[00:26:07] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:26:07] Tracy Rector: ... un-fun stuff that's-
[00:26:07] Toni Bell: The non-fun [crosstalk 00:26:11] filmmaking stuff. The non- that's necessary. [laughs]
[00:26:14] Tracy Rector: That's necessary.
[00:26:14] Toni Bell: But, but hateful. [laughs]
[00:26:16] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:18] Toni Bell: Oh, and then what about, um, Raven Two Feathers?
[00:26:21] Tracy Rector: Raven-
[00:26:22] Toni Bell: Yeah, Raven [crosstalk 00:26:23] got to hang out a lot at, um, in Seattle and just amazing, just an amazing personality. They mentioned that they met you when they were in high school.
[00:26:33] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:33] Toni Bell: Right?
[00:26:34] Tracy Rector: So the filmmaking program that- or fellowship they ran before Fourth World Media Lab was called Super Fly Filmmaking-
[00:26:42] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:26:42] Tracy Rector: ... and so Raven came through at age 16 as a high school student, um, working in our Super Fly Fellowship. And so I've just stayed in touch with Raven ever since. They're really persistent and talented and driven. So part of this year has also been creating media around what does that mean to transition as a young Indigenous person-
[00:27:04] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:05] Tracy Rector: ... because looking around, there's no materials. There's no stories-
[00:27:09] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:09] Tracy Rector: ... there's no media that they can find that's specifically related to the two-
[00:27:14] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:15] Tracy Rector: ... spirit experience of transition.
[00:27:17] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:18] Tracy Rector: And so Raven created Zine. And just had-
[00:27:22] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:27:22] Tracy Rector: ... their basically almost like, um, a coming out party on February 14th, on Valentine's Day-
[00:27:29] Toni Bell: Oh really? Oh, that's great!
[00:27:30] Tracy Rector: And premiered their Zine in front of a huge audience.
[00:27:33] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:34] Tracy Rector: And it was really great to just be in this atmosphere where they were self advocating and had control over how they wanted the world to see them and took-
[00:27:44] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:44] Tracy Rector: ... that space. But also just radiated it out to all the other young two spirit people in the-
[00:27:50] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:27:50] Tracy Rector: ... audience, like, it's okay to be you.
[00:27:52] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:52] Tracy Rector: You do you. [laughs]
[00:27:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:27:54] Tracy Rector: And it's good. We're-
[00:27:55] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:27:56] Tracy Rector: ... here to support and love you. And so it's been fascinating to see how Raven's used their media making skills-
[00:28:01] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:02] Tracy Rector: ... to liberate who they are in their identity-
[00:28:06] Toni Bell: Right.
[00:28:07] Tracy Rector: ... but also to open the door for other people to feel liberated in their identity.
[00:28:11] Toni Bell: Oh, that's so great. Yay, Raven!
[00:28:13] Tracy Rector: Raven! Yeah.
[00:28:16] Toni Bell: Oh, and then als- oh, and, um, JJ Neepin, who is, um, Cree-
[00:28:20] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:20] Toni Bell: ... from the north of us [laughs]-
[00:28:23] Tracy Rector: Yes.
[00:28:24] Toni Bell: Oh, Canada. Yeah.
[00:28:26] Tracy Rector: J-
[00:28:26] Toni Bell: JJ does [crosstalk 00:28:27] documen- yeah. Documentary and narrative as well-
[00:28:29] Tracy Rector: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:30] Toni Bell: And we kinda, we both have bonded, like, over our love for the TV show Hannibal. So [laughs]-
[00:28:35] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:35] Toni Bell: ... we talk about that on Facebook. [laughs]
[00:28:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:37] Toni Bell: We miss it. W- we want Hannibal back.
[00:28:40] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:28:41] Toni Bell: But anyway, tell us about JJ. [laughs]
[00:28:43] Tracy Rector: Um, JJ's legit.
[00:28:45] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:28:46] Tracy Rector: JJ is navigating the industry well. But I haven't stayed in touch with JJ as much as the other filmmakers-
[00:28:53] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:53] Tracy Rector: ... just simply 'cause JJ's been busy doing the work.
[00:28:55] Toni Bell: Yeah. She's working.
[00:28:56] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:28:56] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:28:57] Tracy Rector: So, um, that's really great for-
[00:28:59] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:28:59] Tracy Rector: ... the other filmmakers of Fourth World to see-
[00:29:01] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:29:02] Tracy Rector: ... that their, you know, colleague-
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:04] Tracy Rector: ... in the cohort's doing it.
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:04] Tracy Rector: And is a resource because of that.
[00:29:04] Toni Bell: Oh wait! Wait, wait. You have a movie here. [crosstalk 00:29:13] And by here we mean we're at Big Sky. Um, so, yes. Tell us about your movie here at Big Sky. [laughs]
[00:29:05] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:05] Toni Bell: Forgot about that. You do so much, Tracy. You're doing everything. You're- you are every woman. [laughs]
[00:29:25] Tracy Rector: [laughs] Can you cut that into this, the song?
[00:29:30] Toni Bell: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:31] Tracy Rector: As part of it- yeah.
[00:29:31] Toni Bell: Well, I don't know if we could-
[00:29:32] Tracy Rector: Or can you sing it?
[00:29:33] Toni Bell: ... we could pay- I don't know if we got the money to pay Whitney.
[00:29:35] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:35] Toni Bell: [crosstalk 00:29:36] Or her estate.
[00:29:37] Tracy Rector: [laughs]
[00:29:37] Toni Bell: But we, we could talk- we could figure it out. We could research it. [laughs]
[00:29:45] Tracy Rector: [laughs] Um, yeah. So I was the impact producer for Dawnland, an amazing film-
[00:29:48] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:49] Tracy Rector: ... that came out in 2018.
[00:29:50] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:29:51] Tracy Rector: And one of the elders in that story who is just-
[00:29:54] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:29:55] Tracy Rector: ... her name's Georgina, uh, who's just a spitfire, an amazing, um, vulnerable strong individual, we decided to tell just a short-
[00:30:05] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:06] Tracy Rector: ... story about her and her search for her identity. And so Dear Georgina's playing at-
[00:30:12] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:30:12] Tracy Rector: ... the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. And it premiered at Camden, actually.
[00:30:17] Toni Bell: Okay, great.
[00:30:18] Tracy Rector: So, uh, we're just-
[00:30:19] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:19] Tracy Rector: ... still early in our-
[00:30:20] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:20] Tracy Rector: ... festival run. But it was, uh, really beautiful to see Georgina watch herself-
[00:30:26] Toni Bell: Mm. Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:28] Tracy Rector: ... and her words after the screening was, "Everyone needs to share their story because that's how you heal."
[00:30:35] Toni Bell: Mm.
[00:30:35] Tracy Rector: I was like-
[00:30:36] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:30:36] Tracy Rector: ... oh ...
[00:30:38] Toni Bell: There you go.
[00:30:38] Tracy Rector: And just to have her seal-
[00:30:39] Toni Bell: [laughs]
[00:30:39] Tracy Rector: ... of approval ... Yeah.
[00:30:41] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:30:41] Tracy Rector: Um, that was beautiful. Um-
[00:30:45] Toni Bell: Yeah.
[00:30:46] Tracy Rector: The programming here at Big Sky I think is brilliant. It was programmed with a slate of other films. And the through line was about family separation.
[00:30:56] Toni Bell: Mm. Okay.
[00:30:57] Tracy Rector: And you would, you know, first thought you would look at the films and not think that they really go well together.
[00:31:03] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:31:03] Tracy Rector: But it was brilliant. It was a-
[00:31:06] Toni Bell: Okay.
[00:31:06] Tracy Rector: ... brilliant emotional package. So it was-
[00:31:08] Toni Bell: Mm-hmm [affirmative].
[00:31:08] Tracy Rector: ... an honor to be paired with the other films in our block.
[00:31:12] Toni Bell: Great.
[00:31:13] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:31:14] Toni Bell: All right. Well, thank you, Tracy for being our-
[00:31:17] Tracy Rector: Yeah.
[00:31:17] Toni Bell: ... first guest.
[00:31:18] Tracy Rector: Thank you, what an [crosstalk 00:31:19] honor! That's amazing.
[00:31:20] Toni Bell: Yeah. So, um-
[00:31:23] Tracy Rector: Can I say one thing?
[00:31:24] Toni Bell: Yes, please. Please speak-
[00:31:25] Tracy Rector: Um, I just wanna acknowledge that we are gathering here on the lands of the Kalispel and Salish peoples-
[00:31:30] Toni Bell: Yes.
[00:31:31] Tracy Rector: ... as well as- it's a gathering place for many nations but we want to also say thank you to the Blackfeet Nation for their help in Fourth World Media here at Big Sky.
[00:31:48] Toni Bell: We are truly living in a new world. This crisis we're going through will hopefully leave us in a place to embrace a new normal and will allow us to never take for granted the time we spend together. As Tracy says, there is medicine in gathering together in person, sharing story, and talking story. These are revolutionary acts.
[00:32:06] And lastly, the What's Up with Docs podcast would like to offer our condolences to Tracy and her family at the loss of their father, Samuel Lee Rector. His passing is a reminder for us all to take the time to sit with our parents and grandparents and encourage them to share their stories and wisdom. We dedicate our inaugural episode to him.
[00:32:30] Thank you so much for listening today. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe on all your podcast platforms. Visit our website at whatsupwdocs.com, that's whatsupwdocs.com. And make sure to sign up for our mailing list to get the latest show news. And you can find us on Facebook and Instagram @whatsupwdocs. Again that's whatsupwdocs. And remember, keep telling your stories.
[00:33:01] Today's program was hosted by Toni Bell and produced and edited by Ranell Schubert. Music is by Sierra Thomas.
[00:33:34] Felipe Contrera...: Hey everyone, Felipe again. What a healing conversation. I always appreciate hearing about how stories can be healing and medicine. Tracy's perspective on film and on life is much needed in these spaces and I'm glad there is a show like this one that brings those stories to light. I want to thank What's Up with Docs, who have been a Seedcast friend from the start, mentioning us in their podcasts and sharing our new episodes as they come out. We're proud to support back.
[00:34:05] I hope you enjoyed this episode too. It was originally released in June of 2020. You can find What's Up with Docs wherever you listen to podcasts. The next one's on September 10th. It features Ann Keneko and Jin Yoo-Kim discussing their latest film and, to no surprise to hear, that Tracy Rector's the Executive Producer. Like what you hear? Well then visit their website, whatsupwithdocs.com and click the button to support the podcast.
[00:34:34] If there are other podcasts that you're listening to or making that center the lives of Indigenous people and are made by Indigenous people, please send them our way. Email us at seedcast@niatero.org or connect with us on social media @niatero. We'd love to hear from you.
[00:34:51] Nia Tero is a Seattle based foundation where both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples with a mission to secure Indigenous guardianship of all vital ecosystems. What that means, well, that means we provide support to Indigenous peoples globally who are protecting their homelands from colonization and destruction. Their practices are one of the best guides for making earth livable for humans and other species for generations to come.
[00:35:18] Our Senior Producer is Jenny Asarnow. Our fact checker is Roman Lee Johnson. Our Marketing Manager is Julie Keck. Our Social Media Manager is Hannah Pantaleo. Our Executive Producer is Tracy Rector. Our host is Jessica Ramirez. Our theme song is Buy Me a Cami. I'm Seedcast producer and your guest host for today, Felipe Contreras. We'll be back with original Seedcast episodes in a couple of weeks. Thanks for listening.
[00:36:19] Theme Song: [singing]
