Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Native people - not 'historical' or 'extinct' but very much part of the modern moment

Spotted in recent film festival streaming.

Seems to be a well thought out presentation of complicated matter.
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"Zuni: Connections Through Time"

This film project reunited A:shiwi (Zuni) religious leaders and knowledge keepers with ancestral collections taken from a site on Zuni lands (known archaeologically as the Village of the Great Kivas) in 1930 and currently held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. No one from the Pueblo of Zuni had ever seen these collections since they were removed 95 years ago. The film asks: What was lost in the taking? And what can be regained by sharing A:shiwi histories of connection? It follows Zuni elders and artists as they travel to Washington, D.C. and back home, reflecting on the need to protect their culture (past and present) and their hopes for future generations. It is a collaboration between the Zuni Cultural Resources Advisory Team, the Pueblo of Zuni, the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), Skyship Films, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A second, restricted-access film intended for the Zuni people, foregrounding Zuni language content, was created alongside this public-access film. Both films were funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Grant# 2112-11888, "(Re)Connections Through Time: Developing a model for multi-modal storytelling about Indigenous communities and their collections."

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Maps and seeing the world according to those lines

Radio story from a map center with historical and modern maps that give insight past and present,


Story description
PORTLAND, Maine — For many of us, GPS has been a game changer - a tap, a voice, a turn-by-turn path, will get you there. But there is something special about a physical map that the GPS in your car or phone just can't provide.
     When laid out, a physical map can provide a greater sense of scale and place, hints at the allure of far-off lands, and a reminder that we're a small part of a big world with a complex history.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

drone 360 snowy view in south central Echizen-city (Fukui-ken), rural west Japan

February 2025 fresh blanket of snow in Hokuriku after recent wintry weather: Thanks to the blanket of white, many of the buildings and lanes stand out. The snow certainly adds a new dimension to verbal portraits of a place. And like any still photo, it captures a specific moment in time, making it possible to revisit again and again in future generations, thus contributing to a long-term view for understanding a place and its people.