Pursuit of Happiness: Environmental Justice & Indigenous Rights Student Short Film Series
During the Fall 2019 semester at Brown University, a course was co-taught by Ronald Potvin, PhD., & Lorén Spears, MsEd. titled; Pursuit of Happiness: Environmental Justice & Indigenous Rights. As part of their final project students created short films based on the course discussions. The four films are posted below with quotes from some of the students to accompany each video.
Student Statement: “We explored Indigenous survivance in the face of colonial ecological exploitation and violence. Indigenous self-determination and healing entails fighting for access to land and resources, ensuring environmental health, and preserving lifeways.”
“The story of the Narragansett Nation is part of a larger struggle to address historical and ongoing injustices. We claim responsibility to learn about the land on which we live and hope visitors will engage in local struggles for decolonization, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.”
A Look into India Point Park
“There are important aspects of history the park fails to acknowledge, particularly the park’s relationship to Indigenous peoples.”
“The exclusion of Indigenous histories from this space contributes to the ongoing project of settler colonialism of this land."
“In order to resist the continued erasure of Indigenous people, the history of this land, and particularly its relation to Native people, must be recovered and recognized.”
“Enishkeetompauog,”
the “Narragansett Indian Memorial”
“The Narragansett people are memorialized as figures of yesterday by the statue itself, despite actively surviving and thriving today.”
Mashapaug Pond
“When we think about these moments of the eternal, when we go to our water bodies, the great spectrum of time suddenly collapses in on itself.”
“It is a place today where we go to offer prayer, sing songs to remind our ancestors that we are still here, and we ask them to stay with us, that we need their wisdom.”
“Despite the Extreme degradation of that pond, it is still beautiful. Even though it is sick, we need to care for it, and part of that care is the education of people around the pond.
Wawaloam’s Boulders
“The monuments helped legitimize settler claims that Native Americans had disappeared, carving a European version of history into stone.”
“Indigenous ways of knowing recognize the centrality of women like Wawaloam to the social and cultural vitality of the tribal community.”