Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth

I just wanted to share another blog post from the White Wolf Pack that I just found on the Aboriginal and Tribal Nation News Facebook page that pertains to a movie that looks quite interesting. It was released sometime in 2011, I believe, and it centers on six descendants of the Maya and their stories living in today's contemporary world. White Wolf Pack writes this about the film: "following six young Maya in Guatemala and Chiapas through their daily and ceremonial life. They put forth a wholly indigenous perspective in their own words, without narration. Their cosmovision, in which all life is sacred and interconnected, presents a deeply compelling alternative to the prevailing worldview." 

Among those who are followed throughout the movie, Chan K’in is studying to become a shaman, Alonso is an astro-archeologist, Flori is an activist who survived a genocide only to return to her home later in life to organize her people against a Canadian mining corporation, Felipe is a spiritual guide trying to help the victims of the genocide heal, Chepita is fighting against Monsanto and their genetically modified corn, and Jeronimo is a member of the Zapatistas.

In closing, White Wolf Pack also writes this about the documentary:

Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth combines the intimate accounts and the political presence of the Maya using exquisite imagery, music and dreamlike sequences. The film ridges the gap between the ancient Mayan creation myth, the Popol Vuh and the crises of today, from the haunting ruins of a fallen civilization to the ceremonies of today’s Maya, from their spirituality to their spirit of resistance.

Where the west has focused on the end of the world, they understand their calendar not as an inevitable prophecy, but as the closing of a circle, as a way to a new beginning. A moving and haunting film with a deep respect for the Indigenous. Their call is not just for control over their own lives. It is a last call to save the Earth.

I thought this description of the film, centered on its focus of presenting Indigenous presence and resistance, was a perfect example of the theoretical terms of Sovereignty and Survivance.

Here is the trailer for the film:



And the link to the White Wolf Pack blog is here, where further information can be found about the film: http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/09/documentary-heart-of-sky-heart-of-earth.html