By Leah Smith
As a newcomer to the Pembroke area, I’ve never experienced the festivities surrounding Lumbee Homecoming, a reunion of members of the Lumbee tribe that has been a tradition for over 50 years. I heard tales of collard sandwiches, pageants, and golf carts patrolling the streets, but I was particularly interested in one thing: the 6th annual Lumbee Film Festival.
As a lover of film, I jumped at the opportunity to go to my first film festival. This particular festival had caught my eye in particular not just for the experience, but to get a chance to see Lumbee and Native American stories told through a medium I have grown to love.
I immediately noticed the camaraderie among festival organizers and those who came to watch the film. This was an event by and for the community, and it was evident from the moment I walked in. Just about everyone who showed up, myself included, got a warm welcome from Kim Pevia, the director of the film festival. She hugged people as they came in and sparked up conversations with them as if she had known them for years, and in many cases, I’m sure this is true. I even received what is known as a “prayer bundle,” a small bundle of dried tobacco leaves that is used to keep you connected to where you came from. When I asked if there was any significance to why they were being given out, I was simply told “We’re just glad that you came.”
The festival, put on in partnership with the Cucalorus Film Festival, spanned two days. Friday night was dedicated to the premiere of the highly anticipated,”Lumbeeland,” written by award winning author, filmmaker and executive producer Malinda Maynor Lowery.
The film, starring UNCP theater graduate Billy Oxendine, had been in development for years and had been shown to multiple small gatherings prior to this event, but this was its debut to a larger audience, and you could feel it. Cast members were scattered through the crowd, eagerly awaiting the film’s premier.
Before we got to enjoy the “Lumbeeland” debut, we were treated to a proof-of-concept animated action-comedy titled “Lumbee Jones.” It was created by Efrain Colon, UNCP graduate and one of Lumbeeland’s executive producers. The animated preshow was made up of 3 shorts of a hypothetical pilot about a Lumbee secret agent going on many ridiculous misadventures, including busting a drug deal, revisiting his old martial arts teacher, and foiling the KKK in a humorous recreation of the battle of Hayes Pond. The shorts got laughs throughout the crowd, and the audience very vocally approved of what could be a very fun series. Colon’s plan is to shop the series around to contacts he has made living in Los Angeles, and use it to tell more stories important to the Lumbee people while making it engaging for mainstream audiences. He also wants to mix in original stories and anecdotes from his past.
At the conclusion of the preshow on night one, it was time for the main attraction to begin. A full review of the film is on this website, but in short–it was phenomenal. The cinematography was gorgeous and perfectly fit the tone of this gritty drama. The whole cast gave performances that gave a genuine feel to this story rooted in real world experiences.
The film centers around the drug trade and fentanyl epidemic in and around Robeson County, and draws from the personal experiences of those making the film and the people in the community represented.
Some of those in attendance had been personally affected by tragedies related to these issues, including many family members of Julian Pierce, a Lumbee activist and politician who was murdered in 1988 over what many suspect was his investigation into political corruption with regards to the drug trade. This topic brings up hard memories, but during a Q&A that took place shortly after the screening, it was clear that those in the community, including Pierce’s family, were appreciative of the story being told.
After the show, Lowery described getting that reaction as “sobering.”
“It’s not a topic that I think anyone in our community wants to make a film about. It’s not a problem or issue that any of us want to have to endure, but since it’s been part of our community for such a long time, and especially hearing Julian Pierce’s family talk about their response to it, its affirming that we’re kind of on the right track in doing something that helps people engage the topic, because I think typically there’s just not that many avenues of engagement,” Lowery said. “We tend to be quiet about this because we feel anger, you know? And anger is not always an acceptable emotion. Or we feel shame. And so the shame often keeps people from more openly saying ‘Look this is no longer okay’. Julian’s family are the survivors of one of the worst things that can happen to anybody related to this issue, so especially hearing their feedback on the story was just humbling.”
“Lumbeeland” was the only screening on night one of the festival. The second day also began with a screening of “Lumbeeland” and another short Q&A featuring Lowery, Colon, and cast members.
There were, however, a few surprises we did not get to see from the night before. First, Lumbee tribal chairman John Lowery took the stage to congratulate Lowery and the cast and crew, as well as thank them for tackling such a heavy topic.
We then got a surprise performance from local recording artist Adrian Kyle Locklear, also known as “Kash Kow.” He gave an enthusiastic performance of his new single, “Lum’s be Outside,” an ode to Lumbee culture filled with references to revolutionary Henry Berry Lowery, Lumbee Homecoming, and even UNCP. The crowd got into it, singing along with the talented Locklear and enthusiastically reacting to many of the references throughout his lyrics.
After his performance, the film was shown again. According to Pevia, the second screening was created largely due to the high demand to see this film, and both showings saw a nearly full capacity crowd. During another Q&A, Lowery and the cast and crew were recognized as winners of their best film award. There was little pomp and circumstance, but the award served as another piece of recognition that this story, which had the potential to be extremely divisive, truly resonated with this community in a positive way.
After the Q&A, there was a showing of came separate blocks of short films produced by native voices, ranging from tribes native to North Carolina to communities of Inuit in Canada. The three blocks had central themes that are important to native communities regardless of location: one dedicated to the land, one to the body, and one to the water. Each block, composed almost entirely of documentary pieces, had remarkable displays of filmmaking and narrative technique. All in all, 18 films were shown including those previously mentioned. While each block had many thought provoking stories, a few stand out.
When asked about what films stood out to her, Lowery emphatically mentioned “Tentsítewahkwe,” a short film from executive producer Tracey Rector and director Katsitsionni Fox. The 17–minute short film in the “Learning from the Land” block chronicles one woman’s journey throughout various native communities in the spirit of helping them reclaim their traditional practices that have been lost to colonial assimilation. The narrative structure of the film makes it easy to follow, and seeing people experience such joy when accessing their cultural traditions after seeing the somber tone of the museum scene in the opening makes this a heartfelt glimmer of hope for the future.
Rector was no stranger to the festival, as her other entry “Gath & K’iyh: Listen to Heal” also stood out as a unique concept and a powerful story. Created along with director Princess Daazhraii Johnson and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, it centers around a creative arts project dedicated to restoring a communities relationship with their natural relatives, Gath (King Salmon) and K’iyh (Birch Tree), in the face of climate change. The camerawork is beautiful; the closeup shots of instruments being played help create a fully immersive viewing experience. Watching those in attendance of the project participate was moving as well, as you could tell this experience truly assisted in the healing process as they grieved the loss of their natural world.
There were only three films shown in the block titled “The Body is our Home,” the big reason for that being an hour long documentary feature from PBS and filmmaker Leya Hale titled “The Electric Indian,” a deep dive into the life and career of 1970’s hockey star Henry Boucha of the Ojibwe nation. It is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of a classic “what could have been” sports story, showcasing his amazing talent and the tragic premature end to his career. It does not shy away from his heritage either which is impressive for a PBS piece, dedicating ample time to highlighting his efforts to advocate for his and other native communities, both in and out of the sport. You can feel the emotion as you hear Boucha discuss the events of his life, and watching him be honored at the end of the film is extremely moving and done incredibly well from a filmmaking standpoint.
The final block, titled “Water is Life, Water is Home,” included the standout short film “Hebron Relocation,” directed by filmmaker Holly Anderson. The film centers around the forced removal of a community of Labrador Inuit from the Hebron area in northern Canada during the late 1950’s. Anderson, who at the time of filmmaking lived in a home originally meant for those who were removed, interviewed current day community members as well as one of the survivors from the relocation about the effects it had on their community and the ongoing struggle to maintain their native identity away from their homelands. This film does justice to the tragic nature of this event and its ongoing effects on the people that were subjected to it, showcasing a wide range of perspectives from the interviewed subjects and masterful filmmaking and editing techniques.
One final short film I would like to mention is “When Water Speaks,” from filmmaker Victoria Sutton. The roots of this film can be found much closer to home, in the backyards of the Coharie and Waccamaw Siouan Native American tribes in North Carolina. The film addresses the legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding the discovery of native artifacts in North Carolina waterways, particularly dug out canoes found in the Great Coharie Creek (known locally as the Great Coharie River) and Lake Waccamaw. North Carolina archaeology laws state that artifacts found in state waterways older than ten years belong to the state, but the film shows how these two tribes have fought to have these artifacts returned to the lands where they belong with varying degrees of success. Sutton takes a very informative approach, ensuring that viewers walk away understanding many of the ins and outs of this issue, and provides hope that other communities may be able to fight for their own artifacts in a similar way.
A Q&A with Victoria Sutton took place after the conclusion of the final block of films. With Lowery also in attendance, issues surrounding sovereignty in the face of state government interference were passionately discussed between the filmmakers and members of the community alike. This served as a perfect capstone to an event dedicated to displaying different forms of the assertion of native sovereignty across the state, as well as the entire North American continent.
Overall, the Lumbee Film Festival was an experience I will not soon forget. Stories about Native American tribal history and the issues the communities go through are very often misrepresented or glossed over in mainstream culture. Getting to witness those stories be told through a creative medium was awe inspiring. It was the perfect event for Lumbee Homecoming, an event dedicated to honoring community and embracing tribal identity. I look forward to being involved and attending future iterations of the festival, and I highly recommend this experience to anyone interested in film, the Lumbee Homecoming festivities, and learning more about the different communities that make up the countries we call home.