UMass Amherst to Host Showing and Discussion of Award-winning Documentary with Indigenous Filmmaker on Dec. 1

AMHERST, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Amherst will host a discussion with filmmaker Ivey-Camille Manybeads Tso on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. The discussion will be followed by a showing of her award-winning documentary Powerlands, which highlights the displacement of indigenous people and the devastation of their native lands by corporations in the energy industry.

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Manybeads Tso is a queer Navajo filmmaker who, at the age of 19, sought to investigate the exploitation of the lands where she was born. The film became a personal and political journey in which she learns from Indigenous activists across three continents.

“My family can trace our history to 85 generations with this land,” Manybeads Tso told Democracy Now!. “I began working on this film to document our community’s struggle against resource colonization. Along the way, I found that we are not alone. This is a story of Indigenous people protecting and rebuilding.”

A diverse coalition of colleges and departments on campus have teamed up to host the event, presented in recognition of Native American Heritage Month. In addition to the discussion with the film’s director, there will also be a question-and-answer session with UMass Amherst faculty and deans.

The in-person event will take place on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the College of Education’s Carney Family Auditorium in Furcolo Hall at 813 N. Pleasant St. It will be followed by a showing of the 75-minute award-winning documentary.

The event is sponsored by The Energy Transition Institute, the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, the College of Natural Sciences and the Departments of History and Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.

Registration for the event is available via EventBrite.