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The Cultural Frontline: Why Indigenous and First Nation stories matter

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Why Indigenous and First Nation stories matter

28/01/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Cultural Frontline, Why Indigenous and First Nation stories matter

Indigenous and First Nation storytellers speaking up for their communities

We meet Indigenous and First Nation artists who are using storytelling to take on issues such as environmental destruction, drug addiction and politics

Tina Daheley talks to two film-makers who are highlighting Indigenous communities across North America. Blackfoot and Sámi actor and producer Elle Maija Tailfeathers is the director of the documentary Kímmapiiyipitssini - The Meaning of Empathy, which explores the opioid crisis in her community.  Navajo Diné director and writer Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso’s film Powerlands, documents the impact of chemical companies on Indigenous land. 
 
Daniel Riley is the artistic director and choreographer of the Australian Dance Theatre. His latest piece, Tracker, has just had its world premiere at the Sydney Festival. It is based on the personal story of his great-great uncle who was a Wiradjuri Elder and tracker in the police force in Australia. Reporter Regina Botros spoke to Daniel, along with some of the other First Nations creatives, about the importance of putting stories like this on stage. 

The veteran left wing politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as Lula, was recently sworn in as president of Brazil, having beaten the right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tense election contest. In a change of policy from the Bolsonaro administration, Lula has pledged "zero deforestation" in the Amazon by 2030, which is home to many Indigenous communities, and he has also announced a new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. Edson Krenak is part of the flourishing Indigenous literature scene, and along with other writers, he has been at the forefront of storytelling across the country in order to bring about a dialogue between all cultures. 

(Photo: A still from Tracker. Credit: Australian Dance Theatre)

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