The Kwakwaka'wakw who populate Alert Bay, British Columbia, are perhaps the most studied First Nation peoples in North America. One of the many to photograph them was American photographer Edward S. Curtis, famed for his extensive documentation of North American tribes, infamous for posing his subjects with garb and props not authentic to their culture. In 1914, Curtis transferred his way of working to the moving image, making this silent-era melodrama rooted in native myths and embellished by his own romantic ideas. For the Kwakwaka'wakw, who have encountered many anthropologists over the years, the film now stands as a documentary of the faces of their ancestors, recorded at a time when their own dances, rituals, and languages were outlawed by the Canadian government. The Coast Orchestra, a Native American classical ensemble, will perform the film's original score, composed by Gilbert and Sullivan collaborator John J. Braham. This presentation of the newly restored 35mm print, accompanied by a discussion with Kwakwaka'wakw community members, reframes this complex cinematic landmark.

For more information go to http://www.curtisfilm.rutgers.edu

Film Restoration:
UCLA Film & Television Archive
John Braham Score:
The Getty Research Library

Co-presenters: Bard Graduate Center, Native Peoples Forum, New York University, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, and U'mista Cultural Centre