LFOLA to screen ‘Bring Them Home’ April 22 at Gorton Center
In celebration of Earth Day, Lake Forest Open Lands Association will screen “Bring Them Home” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at the Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest.
“Bring Them Home”/“Aiskótáhkapiyaaya” chronicles a decades-long initiative by members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to bring wild buffalo (Blackfeet: iinnii) back to the Blackfeet Reservation. A thriving wild buffalo population would not only reconnect Blackfeet with a central part of their heritage, spirituality and identity, but would provide economic opportunities and healing for the community. Along the way, however, the initiative faces obstacles from ranchers who see the buffalo as a threat to the cattle ranches that dominate the land and are a legacy of colonization.
The film examines the deeply meaningful role that buffalo played in Blackfeet life prior to the arrival of settlers who nearly eradicated wild buffalo in an effort to eradicate the Blackfeet people. For Blackfeet, the buffalo are seen not only as fundamental to a healthy ecosystem, but as spiritual relatives. Their removal from the land meant the loss of the Blackfeet way of life, the trauma of which still reverberates today.
The histories of the Blackfeet and buffalo are a shared experience of near extinction, genocide and forced removal founded on the everlasting effects of colonization. Blackfeet culture, spirituality and livelihoods are inextricably connected to buffalo, as are the grasslands. Without buffalo roaming there is no healthy prairie, and the Blackfeet, the original stewards of the land, will be forever without an important piece of their history. Through a mix of Indigenous and western storytelling, “Bring Them Home” shows what it means through the eyes of Indigenous peoples to live in relationship with animals and with the land, to appreciate buffalo as wildlife, and educates all audiences about the importance of rewilding buffalo and indigenous-led efforts of conservation.
Following the film, Lake Forest Open Lands’ Julia Lunn will host a Q&A session with the film’s producer, Sarah Clarke. LFOLA members receive free admission. lfola.org with promo code BRINGHOME.
Since its establishment in 1967, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, the first accredited land trust in Illinois, has preserved and stewarded the finest natural habitats in the region, including prairies, savannas, ravines and wetlands. With over 20 miles of walking trails and 10 nature preserves open to the public year-round, Lake Forest Open Lands invites all to enjoy the special places of Northeast Illinois. Their mission includes ensuring that all generations are welcome and able to fully experience nature and offers robust engagement programming to connect with local habitats. As an independent conservation land trust, LFOLA is primarily supported by voluntary contributions, including membership dues and donations, and receives no local tax funding to support its day-to-day operations. For more information about Lake Forest Open Lands, visit LFOLA.org.