This week, SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge will host a screening of a film about indigenous children separated from their families in the U.S. The documentary “Dawnland” will be shown Wednesday afternoon. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with co-director Ben Pender-Cudlip about the film that he hopes starts a national conversation.
In Maine, the truth and reconciliation commission traveled for more than two years — around 2013 to 2015 — gathering testimony and bearing witness to the impact of the state’s child welfare practices on families in tribal communities. “Dawnland” shows the challenges that the commission faced in its efforts.
Filmmaker Ben Pender Cudlip, speaking about “Dawnland,” which will screen at SUNY Ulster Wednesday at 1. Pender-Cudlip will be in attendance to introduce the documentary and answer questions after the screening. This event is free and open to the public. In addition, he mentioned the Upstander Project, which produced “Dawnland.” It’s a filmmaking and educational collaborative that was created in Boston in 2009 to challenge indifference to injustice and raise awareness of the need for upstanders, especially among teachers and their students.
