As part of its Human Rights Film Series, the Native American Studies Program will host a film screening and discussion of “Amá” from 7-9 p.m. tomorrow (April 10) in Ming Hsieh Hall, Room G21 and on Zoom. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
The film “Amá,” the Navajo word for mother, tells the important but little-known story of abuses committed against Native American women by the U.S. government during the 1960s and 1970s, including isolation and punishment at boarding schools, the failed American Indian urban relocation program and involuntary sterilization.
“Amá” is the product of nine years of sensitive, painstaking research by filmmaker Lorna Tucker, featuring testimony of three women who share their personal histories. One of these women, Jean Whitehorse (Navajo Nation), is this year’s Native American Studies Elder-in-Residence.
The audience will also hear excerpts from medical whistleblower Dr. Bernard Rosenfeld and a rare interview with population control scientist Dr. Reimert Ravenholt, whose work fed government policies to limit Native women’s reproductive options.
Whitehorse will head the discussion following the screening, and Bonnie Brown, Native American Studies Program coordinator, will serve as moderator.
The daughter of a Navajo code talker, Whitehorse attended government boarding schools, was part of the country’s Indian Urban Relocation program, and was active in the civil rights/native rights movement, including the Alcatraz Island occupation. She worked for New Mexico’s State Tribal Library Program for over 26 years before retiring. She has testified at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and shares her story at universities and conferences throughout the country.
Nicole Lim, of the Pomo tribe, is the executive director of The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center. She said “Amá” should be “watched by all who want to understand the impacts of genocide and colonization within the United States. Well into the 1970s, the federal government used tactics of persecution, extermination and denial in efforts to eradicate future generations of Native people. This film sheds light on the truth and illustrates the power of Native women in demonstrating resiliency and resistance."
The Human Rights Film Series is made possible by the WVU Community Human Rights Film Festival fund established by Morgantown residents Carol Howe Hamblen and Don Spencer.
Additional support is provided by partners throughout the University including the Department of English, Department of History, Department of Political Science, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, Reed College of Media, WVU Humanities Center, Health Sciences Center Graduate Student Organization and Graduate Women Advocating Science.