SILVER JURY PRIZE - Social Justice Festival | BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM - One Nation Film Festival | AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD - Syracuse Film Festival
Indigenous Democracies & Worldviews • Traditional Models of Gender Equality & Government • Native American Environmental Stewardship • The United States & Treaty ViolationsDate of Completion: 2016 | Run Time: 66 minutes | Language: English & Onondaga language with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Gwendolen Cates | Producer: Gwendolen Cates
The Indigenous and sovereign Onondaga Nation – the Central Fire of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy – follows the Great Law of Peace, never accepted U.S. citizenship, has its own passport, and still maintains a traditional government led by Clanmothers and Chiefs, one of the world’s first true democracies that inspired the Founding Fathers of the United States and the women's suffrage movement. THE GOOD MIND spotlights the Onondaga Nation’s tireless environmental advocacy and their legal battle with the U.S. over ancestral land taken by New York State in violation of a 1794 treaty with George Washington. Motivated by ancient prophecies, the Nation seeks environmental stewardship of their sacred land and waters, which have suffered vast degradation by industrial resource extraction and pollution.
Educational Media Reviews Online | Reviewed by Catherine Michael, Communications & Legal Studies Librarian, Ithaca College
Highly Recommended "Explores history from the valuable perspective of the Onondaga tribe [...] This documentary is recommended for educators covering law, politics, religion, American history, and environmental studies."
AWARDS
Audience Choice Award | Syracuse Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature Film, Audience Choice Award | One Nation Film Festival
Honorable Mention | Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Silver Jury Prize | Social Justice Film Festival
FESTIVALS
American Indian Film Festival
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Earth Day Film Festival
Global Peace Film Festival
Lake Placid Film Forum
Montreal First Peoples Film Festival
One Earth Film Festival
Peace On Earth Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Red Nation Film Festival
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
Syracuse International Film Festival
Syracuse SpringFest Film Festival
SCREENINGS
Lake Placid Film Forum