Monday Movie Night a Success!

It brings a smile to my face when we have a full-house for an event here at the museum - and that's exactly what happened on Monday night for the screening of the documentary, "SFU Tla'amin Field School - Summer 2008". It was standing room only for the 36 minute film and the discussion continued on into the evening. Invited guests from SFU--Barbara Winter, film director and curator of the SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, John Welch, one of the field school project directors and a professor in the Department of Archaeology and School of Resource and Environmental Management, and Roxana Slujitoru, a Communications student, who did the post production and graphics for the film--answered intelligent questions and carried on a thought provoking conversation with the audience.

The title of the film doesn't do it justice. It really should be something like "Archaeology Rocks!" or "Archaeology for a Better World". Joking aside, it is a surprisingly powerful and moving documentary...who knew archaeology could be so far-reaching. A range of topics were covered like the process of collaboration, the importance of the herring fishery, the effects of logging on archaeological sites, and the intertidal zone. The message throughout was one of conservation: conservation of archaeological sites, of herring as a 'keystone species', and of Tla'amin culture and heritage.

The reason I felt this film was so relevant to show to the community at the public museum was because it speaks so directly to the power of collaboration. The SCMA is in the process of community bridging and working collaboratively with both the Squamish and Sechelt First Nations on a new exhibit, and it's a very exciting time. On another level, events like this bring people together. The museum becomes a place where conversations take place, and points of view are shared with the understanding that the multiple perspectives are what create a vibrant community. After watching the film (for the fourth time) and partaking in the event as a whole, I was left with a renewed sense of commitment to community involvement, collaboration, and creating links.

SFU Professor Dana Lapofsky is interviewed in the film and her words give me goosebumps: "I think for a lot of people these days, we're really aware that the Earth is hurting, it's damaged, it's just on this trajectory of doom. And for me, the way to take back the Earth and the trajectory we're on, is to make small changes...to build relations, from person to person, and from community to community, and making those links...realizing that we are all good people, and we all care about the future of the planet, the future of our families."

This field school is a collaboration between SFU and the Tla'amin, the students and the Tla'amin youth, the project directors and the elders. And yet, it's a powerful example for us all. As Lapofsky points out, "One-on-one, group-to-group, community-to-community, I feel like we're strengthening the fabric among people and that can only, only make the world a better place. And I take just huge joy from that". 

So do I.

check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pged9cYg0NQ