Notice Board

Iniskim — Return of the Buffalo
Film screening and Q&A with Amethyst First Rider
presented in the Drama 2100 class
March 14, 2024 | 3 p.m.
Room W731
Free admission, seating is limited

About the Film

We’re so excited to bring ‘Iniskim — Return of the Buffalo’ out into the world! We had our world premier at the ‘Big Sky Film Festival’ in Missoula, MT, USA in February 2024. It was the year of the buffalo! Iniskim was one of three films about buffalo that got shortlisted for the Big Sky Award.

‘Iniskim came about because we knew we needed to celebrate the return of the buffalo. Soon after that I had a chance meeting with master puppeteer Pete Balkwill. The rest is history.’ Amethyst First Rider — Co-Producer

‘Working within the land returned me to the roots of my company the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, but this time I felt guided by something stronger than art. I could sense something bigger pushing us into the work — the Elders told me that this was the energy of the buffalo, and if I relaxed into this it would carry me into a new understanding of this thing I called puppetry.’ Peter Balkwill — Co-Director

Biography

Amethyst First Rider is a member of the Blood Tribe, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She graduated from the University of Lethbridge in 1980 and received her Master’s of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. Amethyst engaged in further theatre and drama development at Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Alberta. Ms. First Rider taught Native Literature at the University of Lethbridge for 10 years as a sessional instructor. At present, Ms. First Rider is a major proponent in buffalo restoration, being one of the original organizers of Iinii Initiative, an ongoing buffalo restoration project that has resulted in the signing of a Buffalo Treaty by First Nations on both sides of the Canada – USA border.

Learn more about the projects:

https://www.buffalotreaty.com/flux/international-buffalo-relations-institute

https://www.maskandpuppet.com/project/iniskim/

https://www.necessaryjourneys.ca/films-and-interactive-projects