Native Voices Film Series
Toby McLeod – July 21, 2026
It dawned on me a while back that August 14th is the 25th anniversary of the POV broadcast of “In the Light of Reverence” — so let’s celebrate!
Please join us in person on Friday, August 14 at 7pm at the David Brower Center in Berkeley for the opening screening of our three-film Native Voices Film Series, where I will have the opportunity to speak with special guest Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone) during the Q&A after the film. Then we will move on to the lobby for beer and pizza from Gather!
Ticket are available at Eventbrite.
In the Light of Reverence explores American culture’s relationship to nature in three places considered sacred by Native peoples: Devils Tower in Wyoming, the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest, and Mount Shasta in California. Rich in minerals and beloved by recreational users, these “holy lands” exert a spiritual gravity that pulls Native Americans into conflict with mining companies, New Age practitioners and rock climbers. Ironically, all sides see themselves as besieged.
This timeless, award-winning film documents Lakota, Hopi and Winnemem Wintu efforts to protect their most sacred places. Their battles tell the story of culture clashes in an ancient landscape.
In the Light of Reverence was first broadcast by the PBS series POV on August 14, 2001, where it was viewed by four million people, and the film is now in the libraries of 1,000 universities, schools, and libraries. Please join us!
In the years since completing ITLOR (as we call it) and our four-part series, Standing on Sacred Ground (2014), I’ve had the honor of working with Corrina Gould to help protect the West Berkeley Shellmound, the local village and burial site that was threatened by condo development starting in 2016. I look forward to talking with Corrina about the state of sacred land protection in 2026.
Next up in the Native Voices Film Series on September 16 will be the Oscar-nominated “Sugarcane” with director Julian Brave NoiseCat in person, and “The Eternal Song” on October 26 with filmmakers Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo—all at the David Brower Center in Berkeley. Ticket for all three films are available at Eventbrite.
Co-Sponsored with Claire Greensfelder and California Institute for Community, Art & Nature, and the David Brower Center.