Collaborating with History: Re-examining the Past through Research and Reenactment

Radically combining documentary and narrative elements, Bisbee '17 follows several members of the close-knit community in Bisbee, Arizona, a former mining town, as they commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, when 1,200 immigrant miners were violently taken from their homes by a deputized force, shipped to the desert on cattle cars and left to die. Official Selection, 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

In this lesson for Bisbee ‘17, students will explore the concept of historical memory and consider the social and cultural factors that influence how the Bisbee deportation has been remembered by the town’s residents. Students will then research and reenact an event from their own community’s past and analyze cultural factors that shape modern interpretations of the event.

Allison Milewski has developed media education resources for a range of award-winning filmmakers and national media organizations, including PBS LearningMedia, Independent Television Services (ITVS), Latino Public Broadcasting, HBO Documentaries, and Tribeca Film Institute. She is also the founder of the international media education program, PhotoForward.org.