Blood Memory

submitted by marubbio@augsburg.edu

The Augsburg Native American Film Series presents Blood Memory on February 19, 2020.
The title “Blood Memory” is derived from the concept that the experiences of one generation are passed onto the next through DNA. Future generations live with the shared knowledge of their ancestors – meaning there is a foundation of survival instinct and cultural identity that exists within us prior to learned experience. In many ways, this is a beautiful and poetic concept, but trauma and abuse can also be transferred intergenerationally, sometimes unknown to the carrier. This film is about acknowledging and honoring all aspects of blood memory, and how we as individuals and community members heal our collective traumas and learn to pass positive ancestral knowledge to the next generation–Director’s Statement (Blood Memory, Official Film Site)
Blood Memory, a true life “dark-horse political thriller”, tells Sandy White Hawk’s story of adoption out of her home community at a young age and her work to help the “stolen generation” of the American Indian Adoption Era return home. Intertwined with her saga is that of Mark Fiddler, an ICWA lawyer whose advocacy as co-council in Adoptive Couple vs. Baby Girl 2013 helped to dismantle the law he once fought to protect (Vision Maker Media). Join Sandy White Hawk for an evening of screening the film and discussion.

Native American Film Series