My Country!

Rachelle Van Zanten – My Country (Official Video) from Taylor F. on Vimeo.

Inspired by images of Tahltan women blockading Shell in defense of the Sacred Headwaters in northern British Columbia, Rachelle wrote ‘My Country’.

She was invited to perform it for the Tahltan people at the Iskut Music Festival a year later, where we filmed this video.

One of the Klabona Keepers brought us up to the Headwaters, the birthplace of the Skeena, Nass and Stikine rivers and a traditional Tahltan territory. This area is critically endangered by a number of industrial mega-projects which threaten all 3 watersheds, affecting an area larger than Ireland.

Shot on Canon 5D2 & a host of HDV cameras (& 1 ancient Betacam).

Taku: Our Land is our Future

And I thought to myself, if my dad was alive he would fight. There would be bloodshed on that ground before they take it from us. It’s our land. – Nètyíwdashít’, Taku Tlingit Elder, 1914-2006

Pacific Northwest Indians, Southeast Alaska Natives, and First Nations Natives, those rivers are named after us for a reason.

For our warriors: Native Youth Movement

And for all of us, who are lovers of peace: Native American Church