Screening Schedule
“Voices From The Barrens”
University of Maine at Machias
Sept. 30; 7 p.m.
“Hungry Now”
Collins Center for the Arts
Nov. 13; 3 p.m.
University of Maine at Machias
Dec. 2; 7 p.m.
Contacts
Nancy Ghertner: Director
voicesfromthebarrens@gmail.com
voicesfromthebarrens.com
Ph: 585.732.6047
Alan Kryszak: Director UMM Downeast Documentary crew
Alan.Kryszak@maine.edu
Ph: 716.597.4335
Jennifer Isherwood
Event Manager
Assistant Coordinator of Native American Student Outreach & Development
University of Maine Wabanaki Center and UMaine at Machias
Ph: 207.949.2691
First in a Maine-focused film series called The Right to Food, the documentary “Voices from the
Barrens, Native People, Blueberries and Sovereignty” will screen at the University of Maine at
Machias at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30 in the Performing Arts Center.
“Voices from the Barrens” documents the wild blueberry harvest of the Wabanaki People from the USA and Canada. The film focuses on the Passamaquoddy tribe’s challenge to balance blueberry hand raking traditions with the economic realities of the world market, which favor mechanical harvesting. Each August, First People of the Canadian Wabanaki, the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet tribes, cross the US/Canada border into Maine to take part in the tradition of hand raking blueberries with their Passamaquoddy brothers and sisters. This crossing to Maine’s blueberry barrens isn’t considered “agricultural labor,” but is a part of the traditional harvest from the earth.
For more information: voicesfromthebarrens@gmail.com or website contact page:
voicesfromthebarrens.com
A Q&A with a panel will follow the UMM screening on Friday, Sept. 30. The panel will include representation from the Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company, indigenous blueberry raking families, and Passamaquoddy individuals with expertise in indigenous food systems and culture.
