NEW FILM DIRECTED BY JULIANNA BRANNUM EXAMINES RESTORATION OF BUFFALO TO INDIGENOUS LANDS
HOMECOMING, Debuting October 18, Brings the Story of THE AMERICAN BUFFALO to the Present
Arlington, VA – September 21, 2023 – HOMECOMING, a new film directed by Julianna Brannum (THE AMERICAN BUFFALO, CONSCIENCE POINT, NATIVE AMERICA, WE SHALL REMAIN “Wounded Knee”) extends the story of Ken Burns’s upcoming film, THE AMERICAN BUFFALO, to the present by examining the return of the species to Indigenous lands today. HOMECOMING will premiere on Wednesday, October 18 on PBS.org and PBS App and on PBS’s YouTube Channel on November 24.
The 18 minute-film, a Florentine Films production with Ken Burns as executive producer, highlights the foundational work of the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) and its partner organizations, and how they’ve become a guiding force in the food sovereignty and cultural revitalization movements led by tribal citizens across the United States. Brannum, a citizen of the Comanche Nation, also served as a consulting producer on THE AMERICAN BUFFALO, which will premiere on October 16 and 17 on PBS.
THE AMERICAN BUFFALO takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the mammal’s evolution, its significance to the Great Plains and, most importantly, its relationship to the Indigenous People of North America.
HOMECOMING takes viewers into the 21st century and examines how the InterTribal Buffalo Council’s Bison Conservation and Transfer Program is supporting buffalo restoration to the Indigenous people whose lives, spiritually and physically, were inextricably linked to the bison for thousands of years.
Each winter, approximately 200 bison are transferred to tribal nations around the country. The film follows Jason Baldes, an Eastern Shoshone and a member of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, who was also an advisor to the Burns Film, as he leads historic transfers of bison from the city of Denver, Colorado to his own Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, and from a Nature Conservancy Preserve in Illinois to the Menominee in Wisconsin, communities which will maintain their bison herds to supply a healthy food source and cultural touchstone to their tribal citizens for eternity. The film discusses what living among the bison once again means for Native people––today and for future generations.
"For many tribes, including my own, our entire lives were centered on this animal,” said Julianna Brannum. “It had disappeared from our culture for a time, but with the hard work of folks like Jason Baldes and the InterTribal Buffalo Council, we are seeing a powerful rematriation – a return to our traditional lifeways that help to ground us and refocus our attention to the natural world. It was a real honor to witness such a powerful moment in Menominee history when they welcomed back their animal relatives to their lands."
“THE AMERICAN BUFFALO is a morality tale encompassing two historically significant lessons that resonate today: how humans can damage the natural world and also how we can work together to make choices to preserve the environment around us,” Ken Burns said. “Like all stories focused on history, this one continues into the present. With HOMECOMING Julianna tells a powerful story about the important and exciting efforts now underway to restore bison to their ancestral lands and help Native people revive their sacred relationship that for millenia was a vital source of sustenance and spirituality. The film also asks each of us to think about our relationship to the land and the species that inhabit it differently, recognizing that these are ecosystems that must be sustained.”
For thousands of generations, buffalo have evolved alongside Indigenous people who relied on them for food and shelter, and, in exchange for killing them, revered the animal. The stories of Native people anchor THE AMERICAN BUFFALO, including the Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne of the Southern Plains; the Pawnee of the Central Plains; the Salish, Kootenai, Lakota, Mandan-Hidatsa, Aaniiih, Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Blackfeet from the Northern Plains; and others.
The series documents the startling swiftness of the species’ near extinction in the late 19th century. Numbering an estimated 30 million in the early 1800s, the herds began declining for a variety of reasons, including the lucrative buffalo robe trade, the steady westward settlement of an expanding United States, diseases introduced by domestic cattle and drought. But the arrival of the railroads in the early 1870s and a new demand for buffalo hides to be used in the belts driving industrial machines back East brought thousands of hide hunters to the Great Plains. In just over a decade the number of bison collapsed from 12-15 million to fewer than a thousand, representing one of the most dramatic examples of our ability to destroy the natural world. By 1900, the American buffalo teetered on the brink of disappearing forever, and the Native people of the Plains entered one of the most traumatic moments of their existence.
But the other, lesser-known part of this story, told in the film’s second episode, is about the people who set out to save the species from extermination and how they did it. Their actions provide compelling proof that we are equally capable of pulling back from the brink of environmental catastrophe if we set our minds to it.
HOMECOMING will premiere on October 18 on PBS.org and PBS App and will debut on PBS’s YouTube Channel on November 24.
HOMECOMING is directed and produced by Julianna Brannum. Executive Produced by Ken Burns. Edited by Matt Leach. Music by Kevin Hoetger and Kyle Crusham. Cinematography by Jared Ames, Brittan Bendabout, Charles Elmore, Lindsay Jackson, and Buddy Squires, ASC. Audio by David Griesinger and Royce Sharp. The film advisors were Julie Dunfey, Dayton Duncan and Craig Mellish.
THE AMERICAN BUFFALO will air October 16 and 17, at 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App. THE AMERICAN BUFFALO will be distributed internationally by PBS International. The series will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. THE AMERICAN BUFFALO will also be available to stream on PBS Passport and the “PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel”. PBS station members can view the documentary via PBS Passport as part of a full collection of Ken Burns films. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.
THE AMERICAN BUFFALO is a production of Florentine Films and WETA Washington, D.C. Directed by Ken Burns. Written by Dayton Duncan. Produced by Julie Dunfey and Ken Burns, and co-produced by Susan Shumaker. Emily Mosher served as associate producer and Julianna Brannum as consulting producer. Edited by Craig Mellish, ACE; Alex Cucchi, assistant editor. Principal cinematography by Buddy Squires. Narrated by Peter Coyote. The executive in charge for WETA is John F. Wilson. Executive producer is Ken Burns.
Corporate funding for THE AMERICAN BUFFALO was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by The Better Angels Society and its following members: The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation fund at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation; Diane and Hal Brierley; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; John and Catherine Debs; Kissick Family Foundation; Fred and Donna Seigel; Jacqueline Mars; John and Leslie McQuown; and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tudor Jones. Funding was also provided by The Volgenau Foundation.
ABOUT WETA
WETA is the leading public broadcaster in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia with educational initiatives and with high-quality programming on television, radio and digital. WETA Washington, D.C., is the second-largest producing-station for public television in the United States, with news and public affairs programs including PBS NEWSHOUR and WASHINGTON WEEK; films by Ken Burns, such as MUHAMMAD ALI and HEMINGWAY; series and documentaries by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., including FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. and THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG; health content from Well Beings, a multiplatform campaign of engagement events and digital and broadcast content, including the documentary HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: YOUTH MENTAL ILLNESS; and performance specials including IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE and THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR POPULAR SONG. More information on WETA and its programs and services is available at www.weta.org. Visit www.facebook.com/wetatvfm on Facebook or follow @WETAtvfm on Twitter.
ABOUT PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 42 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 15 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, and 56 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free onpbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet,Facebook, Instagram, or through ourapps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available atpbs.org/pressroomor by following PBS Communications on Twitter.
About PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel
The PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel is a DTC-SVOD channel exclusive to Prime Video. This channel features over 1,500 hours of the highest quality factual programming, including the full catalog of films from Ken Burns and award-winning documentaries from NOVA, FRONTLINE, AMERICAN MASTERS, NATURE, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, in addition to programming from other independent producers.
Follow the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel on Facebook and Twitter
About PBS Passport
PBS Passport is a member benefit from participating PBS stations that gives eligible donors and supporters extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming online or within the PBS Video app. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.
– PBS –