Guardians of the Sacred follows 20 sacred site guardians from around the world as they journey to the Hawaiian island of Kaho‘olawe for shared ceremony and strategic dialogue before attending the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu in September 2016.
Indigenous communities around the world resist threats to their sacred places—the original protected lands—in a growing movement to defend human rights and restore the environment.
Why has the U.S. government failed to offer an apology to Native Americans? Canada and Australia are way ahead—but what good is an apology if actions do not follow?
Satish Kumar brings a Hindu, Buddhist and Jain perspective to the definition of “sacred place.” We found his explanation so compelling that we edited a three-minute piece…
There’s a story that has has played out all over the world. First come the missionaries doing good. Indigenous communities split apart and connections to land, ancestors and spirits of place weaken—not everywhere, but almost everywhere.
Hopi elder Thomas Banyacya (1909-1999) was selected as spokesman for traditional leaders in 1948, after atom bombs triggered Hopi awareness that the prophecized “gourd full of ashes” had finally appeared. We worked with Thomas from 1977 through 1999 and were fortunate to film him at Chaco Canyon, in Washington DC, and at sacred migration sites around the Four Corners area. His humor, good spirit and wisdom will be long remembered.
Filming a Chinese-government-owned mine in Papua New Guinea in 2010 led to some hair-raising moments as we were filming “Profit and Loss” when we were detained at gunpoint in a makeshift police station inside a shipping container…
Lisjan Ohlone leader Corrina Gould and her allies pray at the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site every year on the Spring Equinox. This year they went to protect the historic site from a new threat.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 14, 2018, more than 400 people turned out to protect the West Berkeley Shellmound and Historic Ohlone Village Site.
As our delegation of 25 sacred site guardians traveled to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in September 2016, our first stop was the island of Maui, where we were welcomed by members of the Protect Kaho`olawe Ohana (PKO).