This is the Way We Rise

2024 • USA/Mexico • 16 min • Marc Chavez and Octavio Aceves Coutiño

Has Subtitles, Michigan Premiere, Family Friendly

Over 400 years ago, a major disturbance disrupted nature’s law along the West Coast, reshaping coastlines, Indigenous life, and traditions. Now, a new wave emerges, allowing Indigenous communities to thrive in harmony with nature. Haagua portrays the deep bond between Great Great-Grandmother Ocean and her great-grandchildren, where surfing is more than a sport—it is a cultural revival, reconnecting with ancestral ways of life.

2022 • United States • 11 min • Andrew Harrison-Brown

Michigan Premiere, Family Friendly

As one of only 30 fluent Squamish language speakers left in Squamish Nation, Myia Antone teaches as a way to preserve her language for generations to come. Seeking to learn more about her culture and language, Myia uses her mountain bike as a needle weaving through her ancestral lands and language. While biking with other Indigenous women, Myia utilizes the Squamish language to point out geographical features and native plants on rides. Weaving complex conversations through nuanced layers of generational trauma, Inseparable ultimately paints Indigenous joy and community as vital elements for a path forward.

2025 • USA • 8 min • Dusan Harminc

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere

A short documentary about the importance of Native American language revitalization shot in Milwaukee, Keshena and Bjorklunden with Indigenous Nations Poets