Indigenous people are as present today as ever before, and we carry with us the knowledge that our ancestors have known for millennia and fought to hold on to amid genocide. This documentary explores Indigenous land relationships throughout North Carolina featuring Vickie Jefferies (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), Stands Among Elk (Meherrin Nation), and John Blackfeather (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation).
Vickie Jefferies will speak about respectful harvesting practices and medicinal uses for plants from her own perspective as an Indigenous herbalist. Vickie will also talk about her prominent pine needle basketwork. Stands Among Elk wil relate powerful, magical, and whimsical stories about the Meherrin’s relationships with the natural world. These stories include “how the birds got their song” and “how the Creator taught all the medicines.” John Blackfeather will talk about navigating life as an Indigenous person in 1940s Hillsborough, NC. This was when John formed his strong relationship with the natural world. John insists that we must listen to nature because it speaks to us.