Hannu, an aging curmudgeon, ponders life as he sits jn the sauna. He wanders alone within the Finnish forest where he observes the animals’ own encounters with life. We watch him set up hidden cameras in the forest, cameras that permit him even closer observation. Animals, like humans, he realizes, are predators, but they practice sustainability. Of all the animals he observes, he becomes most closely concerned about the lynx, elusive animals who avoid humans. He identifies with their effort to avoid others. We watch Hannu as he crawls on his hands and knees in the forest, setting up cameras that permit him to see more of this hidden life and wants to help this endangered species. Hannu is not just intellectually connected to the lynx; he has become emotionally connected to their life and to their survival. For us, the viewers, we get a bonus: as we watch, these hidden cameras permit us to see the Finnish forest in the twilight hours, an elusive moment not usually photographed and shown on film. Like Hannu, we too connect with the Eurasian lynx hiding in the forests.
Nick Hockings, an Ojibwe Culture educator, works with a group of primarily elder Euro-American men to build an authentic birchbark wigwam using the materials of the Northwoods forests, Traditional hands-on techniques learned over centuries are fused with Ojibwe cultural teachings and woven into a practical, yet spiritual ecology of the northern hardwoods forest. In the film, the techniques are demonstrated.
Michael Loukinen is Professor Emeritus from Northern Michigan University. He earned his PhD in Sociology from Michigan State University (MSU) and, had a University of Michigan Post-doctoral fellowship, where he studied oral history and the cultural anthropology of aging. Loukinen began his career publishing original research on Finnish Americans and on rural community social support networks. This led to his first film, “Finnish American Lives,” 1982. He held a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Turku in 1983. He has completed 24 documentaries, most on ethnic traditions in the Upper Midwest including Finnish Americans, Ojibwe, Menominee, Ottawa and Serbs. He has recorded the traditional occupational cultures of trappers, loggers and commercial fishers in the U.P. Up North Films is a non-profit documentary film production company at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan. www.upnorthfilms.com
Jim Williams, Sr., an elder of the Lac Vieux Desert Ojibwe band in Watersmeet, Michigan, heard elders sing at feasts, pow wows and ceremonies while growing up. He went on to start a traditional drum group called the Lac Vieux Desert Singers who are featured in this film along with the Four Thunders drum, a group that also includes the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Sault Ste. Marie bands, and singers from Marquette.
Film reveals the traditional practices of planting rice, boat building, harvesting, parching, dancing, winnowing, cooking and finally eating wild rice at a feast. Opening sequence records the late Spiritual Elder (Niigaanosh) Archiie McGeshick, Sr, planting and managing the wild rice beds, The film explores the variety of threats to the continuance of these indigenous wild rice beds.
Presenter Bio: Michael Loukinen is Professor Emeritus from Northern Michigan University. He earned his PhD in Sociology from Michigan State University (MSU) and, had a University of Michigan Post-doctoral fellowship, where he studied oral history and the cultural anthropology of aging. Loukinen began his career publishing original research on Finnish Americans and on rural community social support networks. This led to his first film, “Finnish American Lives,” 1982. He held a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Turku in 1983. He has completed 24 documentaries, most on ethnic traditions in the Upper Midwest including Finnish Americans, Ojibwe, Menominee, Ottawa and Serbs. He has recorded the traditional occupational cultures of trappers, loggers and commercial fishers in the U.P. Up North Films is a non-profit documentary film production company at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan. www.upnorthfilms.com
Get a taste of Flooball with FREE WEDNESDAY FLOORBALL!
For Thursday-Sunday: Tori Nordic Fair + Floorball Pass required – Tickets will be available closer to the event.
Join us in Duluth for the NAFL (North American Floorball) finals, where some of the best players from nice (9) countries will battle it out for the coveted Troy Cup. Did you know, that floorball is the fastest growing indoor sport globally and Finland’s second most popular sport after soccer? Join us to cheer for your favorite team! Teams: Fort Worth Jaguars, Minnesota Growlers, Ohio Aviators, Seattle Sockeyes, Fresno Force, Texas 38ers Countries represented: USA, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Philippines and Latvia.
The North American Floorball League (NAFL) exists to bring the highest level of floorball to North America, in order to showcase the sport to a new audience and develop the game in new markets.
Get a taste of Flooball with FREE WEDNESDAY FLOORBALL!
For Thursday-Sunday: Tori Nordic Fair + Floorball Pass required – Tickets will be available closer to the event.
Join us in Duluth for the NAFL (North American Floorball) finals, where some of the best players from nice (9) countries will battle it out for the coveted Troy Cup. Did you know, that floorball is the fastest growing indoor sport globally and Finland’s second most popular sport after soccer? Join us to cheer for your favorite team! Teams: Fort Worth Jaguars, Minnesota Growlers, Ohio Aviators, Seattle Sockeyes, Fresno Force, Texas 38ers Countries represented: USA, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Philippines and Latvia.
The North American Floorball League (NAFL) exists to bring the highest level of floorball to North America, in order to showcase the sport to a new audience and develop the game in new markets.