Screening of "A Century of Genocide in the Americas: The Residential School Experience"

This short documentary film, made by Rosemary Gibbons (Mimbres Apache/ Chicana) and Dax Thomas (Laguna/Acoma) in 2002, speaks to the theme of the intergenerational health and social impact of -and healing in relation to- the forced boarding school attendance and institutionalized sexual abuse of Native American children. The documentary begins, as described by the filmmakers, by historically examining “how the systematic removal of First Nations children from their families and community not only made the them easy targets for pedophiles but also how these vile acts turned many of the victims into predators.” Inspired by “First Nations survivors who have taken legal action against the institutions that perpetuated this destructive cycle …(the very same institutions whose purpose and mandate was to ‘provide' for their well being”), the film then focuses on “First Nations peoples taking legal action against not only the pedophiles, but also against the Canadian government and churches while at the same time using their traditional ways of healing in order to bring back joy and balance back within their own lives and also within their communities.”

The film will be introduced and contextualized by University of Iowa Assistant Professor Vanessa Watts Simonds, who uses community-based participatory research approaches to develop culturally centered health interventions in Native American communities. Professor Simonds will also guide discussion around the film during the question and answer period.