- [Announcer] This series was created in partnership with the Sundance Institute.

More information at sundance.org Funding for "Native Shorts" was made possible by a generous grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and from viewers like you.

(bold drumming music) ♪ (singing in indigenous language) ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Bird] "Native Shorts", presented by Sundance Institute's Indigenous Program.

- [Ariel] Hello, and welcome to "Native Shorts."

I'm Ariel Tweto.

- [Bird] And, I'm Bird Runningwater.

- And, on today's episode, we are watching two films.

The first one is "Birds in the Earth," and the second will be "Headdress."

Bird, will you tell me a little bit about "Birds in the Earth?"

- Very happy to.

(Bird laughs) "Birds in the Earth" is coming to us from the Sápmi territory in the Arctic Circle of Scandinavia.

And, I know many of our own native people on this side of the world are always so shocked to hear that there's indigenous people in Scandinavia in the Arctic Circle.

- Yeah, that sort of blew my mind.

- Yeah.

But you'll see in the film, like, the terrain, the Arctic?

It's very similar to like your homelands, you know.

But, the filmmaker is Marja Helander, and she is Sámi from the country of Finland.

Her mother's Finnish; her father is Sámi.

And, you know, in this film she really wanted to kind of create a juxtaposition of these two indigenous ballet dancers.

Kind of like dancing in front of the Finnish parliament, kind of as an exploration of a way to look at state-held lands.

And so, we'll just kind of see how she treated that and where the story went from there.

- Cool.

I think, let's-- we'll dive in, watch it, and come back and chat a little bit more.

So, here we are, "Birds in the Earth."

(film machine whirring/clattering) (wind whistling) [slow thoughtful saxophone music] ♪ (wind whistling) ♪ ♪ [light organ/saxophone music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [light organ music] ♪ ♪ [light saxophone/organ music] ♪ (car trunk/doors slamming) ♪ (car engine revving) (car tires crunching snow) ♪ [bright saxophone music] ♪ ♪ (footsteps crunching snow) (whooshing sounds) (light rattling sounds) (plop!)

(sleek rubbing sounds) (snow scraping sounds) [vocalizing melodically] ♪ [tense string/organ music] [whining sounds] [vocalizing melodically] ♪ [tense string/organ music] [vocalizing] ♪ [dissonant keyboard music] ♪ [moody somber keyboard music] ♪ ♪ ♪ [ominous symphonic music] ♪ [haunted low vocalizing] ♪ [low tense symphonic music] ♪ [whistling musically] [low tense symphonic music] [dramatic percussion] [low tense music] [haunted low vocalizing] ♪ [whistling musically] ♪ [dramatic percussion] ♪ [vocalizing/singing in Sámi language] ♪ ♪ [light thoughtful organ music] ♪ [vocalizing/singing] [singing stops] [vocalizing/singing] [vocalizing/singing] ♪ [light saxophone music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [sound of air brakes whooshing] [motorized engine rumbling] ♪ (car clacking/rumbling) ♪ [soft trumpet music] ♪ [saxophone/soft percussion] ♪ [saxophone/soft percussion] ♪ [saxophone/soft percussion] ♪ [vocalizing] [light organ music] ♪ [saxophone/soft percussion] [percussive trilling] ♪ [vocalizing/trilling] ♪ ♪ [vocalizing/trilling] [somber organ music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [thoughtful somber organ music] ♪ [elegant string music] [vocalizing musically] ♪ [vocalizing/singing in Sámi language] ♪ ♪ [singing in Sámi language] [light string music] ♪ [thoughtful saxophone music] ♪ [vocalizing/singing in Sámi language] ♪ - [Ariel] Brr!

Well, this kitty is chilly!

(both laughing) It looked cold, but it looked like Alaska.

- [Bird] Yeah.

- Like, the mountains, the snow, the mosquitoes!

- Yeah.

- If you pay attention, you can see the little mosquitoes flying all over the place.

Mosquitoes are our state bird in Alaska!

You could clap.

They're massive.

That's why they're the bird.

But, you clap, and you have 10 in your hand.

- Right.

- But, anyway, that was...interesting!

- This is Finland.

And so, you know, one of the things that we know about their shoot is that it was minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, are there mosquitoes at minus 10 degrees?

- Well, no.

Not in-- we get 'em in the summer.

- Oh, okay.

- Yeah.

- But, in the summer scenes you could see the mosquitoes.

- [Bird] Okay.

- But, those poor dancers!

- I know.

- Strong!

- Apparently sometimes they can only get one take, you know, one shot of them before they had to go run inside and put on their, you know, winter gear.

- Yeah.

- In minus 10 degree weather, dancing.

But, you know, Marja, the filmmaker said that, you know, it was kind of her intent to kind of explore this notion of indigenous lands versus state-owned lands, and shooting in front of the parliament.

But then, you know, she just went with it and decided to shoot these dancers in their traditional clothes and out on their ancestral lands and everything.

And, I think it's such a really beautiful contrast.

- It is.

Yeah, the shots were beautiful.

And then-- but then, also do we have to acknowledge the randomness.

Like them pulling in the TV and all the stuffed animals!

- And, the foxes.

- You're like-?

- And, the caribous.

- What was that about?

- I don't know.

It was kind of quirky.

- Yeah.

- It was fun.

- Well, I guess it's art.

Like, some things are just unexplainable.

- Yeah.

- And, they're just meant to be art, and for-- left to our imagination.

So, that was exciting.

- Yes.

- Um, okay.

We have to move on to the next film.

- Yeah.

- It's called head- hair-?

Ugh!

"Headdress."

Almost said "hairdresser!"

"Headdress."

(Bird laughs) Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- Yes.

Well, "Headdress" is a film by Tai Leclaire, and Tai is Mohawk and Mi'kmaq from the Kahnawake reservation in Canada.

And-?

But, this film played in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, kind of the first in-person festival that they had post, you know, lockdown and everything.

And-?

But, it's really about encapsulating how native people might struggle with a moment that they deem as questionable and possibly racist.

(Ariel chuckles) - Okay.

Well, let's-- - It's a comedy, satire.

- It's a comedy.

Yay, I'm excited!

I love comedies.

So, let's dive in.

Here we are: "Headdress."

(film machine whirring/clattering) (loud festival music) - I'm just gonna get off social, just for-?

You know?

Mental health.

- I think you should.

- Yeah.

- I did it for, like, two minutes last year.

And, those were truly the best times.

- Ohh...!

- Security took my travel amethyst, Darren.

Yes, my chakra's gonna be off!

What do you think?

Security sucks here!

They stole my travel amethyst.

- Are you gonna say somethin'?

♪ [mysterious music] ♪ - Alright, identities.

We have a class B, level one racist encounter.

This is not a drill.

[upbeat music] Can we have someone set the timer to 30 Tai-perceived seconds?

- Nah.

I-?

Please, I'm good.

Just any other time.

(whoosh!)

I'm just-!

Okay, okay!

I'll take it.

[dramatic music] ♪ (clock winding sounds) 30!

(background social chatter) [tense music] - Shhhut up!

♪ - We are tight on time for this one.

[dramatic music] ♪ (scratchy sounds) ♪ (squeaky marker sounds) White person in a headdress: what are we sayin'?

[upbeat music] - Call 'em "racist" on Twitter.

Outreach performs well.

- Don't say anything!

Rip it off his dry white scalp.

[dramatic music] ♪ - Loving the quick input!

Queer Tai?

(ding!)

Now's your moment to shine.

- Maybe she's an ally.

We don't know her deal.

She could be from a tribe that wears that, right?

- No, but loving how much more confident you're sounding.

Next.

- I'm not the only one left.

- Yeah, I know.

But-?

- I'm not the only one left.

[dramatic music] ♪ - Fine, then.

Future Tai.

Feel like manifesting yourself today?

[serious sacred music] ♪ (ball squeaking) (ball squeaks) Awesome!

Moving on.

Goth Tai, what do you think we should say?

- Well?

Instead of saying something, why don't we murder/suicide?

- Can I get a real answer this time?

- It is.

Write it down.

- Just as funny as the first 400 times.

- I was fully serious about that IHOP waiter.

- Okay, show of hands.

Who liked Bougie's suggestion?

- Send all of our thoughts.

(timer ticking) - What?

- Am I the only one sick of this corporate managerial bull?

I mean, come on!

We used to get this done before Code Switch showed up!

We were fun, intuitive.

We were living.

"This" doesn't have to be this complicated!

[timer ticking] [tense music] - He does have a point.

We were less insecure with words before.

- Okay, everyone calm down.

- I'm with Manson.

- Okay, we all know the rules.

One thought in the machine at a time.

- Um?

Guys?

- You wanna vote?

Fine!

Who thinks we should send all of our thoughts?

[suspenseful music] ♪ ♪ (paper rustling) (fax machine beeps) (fax machine whirring) ♪ (ball squeaks) (machine whirring) ♪ - [Bougie Tai] I love mess!

(beeping sounds) - No!

Ew, Mom!

I can't take you to the dentist today.

No, I told you.

I'm at school.

Yeah, take a number.

- Lemme just do a-?

No?

Okay.

Here.

- Okay.

- I might just-?

(chuckles) - Can I get you some water, Tai?

(audio warps) - You do this, and you do this.

(voices echoing) - [Tai] I'm, uh?

No.

Okay.

I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna lie down.

[tense music] (tapping) - Well, I hope you're all happy.

(click!)

This is bordering panic attack territory.

- [Goth Tai] I'm elated.

Do you remember how exciting it used to be here?

How spontaneous we used to be?

You know, when I was managing thought owner, concert tickets only cost 20 bucks, and I made sure we went to every single show.

- Move on.

- Excuse me?

- Move on!

Your input doesn't even make sense anymore!

- As Tai's earliest identity here, my input is far more important than any one of yours.

- That should make you the least important person here.

- Guys!

Five perceived seconds left!

- Oh, yeah.

'Cause you expect to find every answer in a Richard Branson book.

- Oh, wow.

Bravo.

You can read.

You know?

There's a reason why I'm in charge of sending thoughts to the machine, and why I'm in control of the MTO device.

- Um, guys?

- What?

- What?!

[suspenseful music] (marker clattering) ♪ [aggressive guitar music] ♪ - No!!

[soft guitar music] ♪ [aggressive guitar music] - Yeah!

Kick his a--!

[soft piano music] (grunting) - You're gonna break it!

[tense music] ♪ - The ink's gone.

(timer ticking) [suspenseful music] ♪ - What was in that edible?

♪ - We can fix this.

Tai just can't get any new thoughts.

So, that means he can't get any new ideas.

(static crackling) He'll be okay.

- He's actually in the fetal position.

I know.

Okay.

- What do we do?

- Maybe we can just etch something in the paper and stick it through the machine.

- You think I didn't try that when we were shopping in Milan?

- The only thing that works with that machine is the MTO device.

- We only get one of those at a time.

- Well?

When future time manifests, a new one should come.

- When would that be?

- Well, that might never be now.

Okay?

Think!

Did anyone manifest with an item on them?

Bougie, does that phone work?

- Uh, this is just cardboard.

♪ - That's it, then.

That's it.

We're done.

We're done.

Tai's never having a single new thought.

How did I miss this?

♪ (ball squeaks) ♪ - When Queer Tai manifested after me, for the record, I did give him the MTO box, but I may have held on to my device.

I told you my communication vessel was black candle wax.

I lied.

(plop!)

It works!

I've been sending my own messages in the machine for months now.

Why do you think we've been listening to so much Mudvayne?

- This'll work.

This'll work!

Thank you.

- "Brainstorm" game?

- Yes.

Uh?

"Topic Map!"

- The "Verb Game."

- "In and Out."

- "Finish the sentence."

- "Finish the sentence!"

- Get.

(beeping) - You.

- Colonizing.

- Piece.

- Of.

(beeping) [tense music] ♪ - Simple.

- Clean.

(paper rustling) (fax machine beeping) - Can we just get someone to record Tai saying this?

(groans) I mean, it could be good for him.

♪ Just sayin'.

♪ (fax machine whirring) (Tai snorts) - I've got it.

I've got the perfect thing to say.

- He's up.

- White lady in the headdress, where's she at?

I know what I'm gonna tell her.

- No.

The woman in the headdress left, like, 15 minutes ago.

- What?

- Yeah.

Some lady ripped it off her head.

- Yeah, really gave it to her.

- Powerful speech, too.

Came right from the heart.

- Heart?

Ugh.

(click!)

[upbeat music] ♪ - So sorry.

Do you play?

- [Ariel] That was good!

I like that one.

I like all the different personalities.

I really identify as Future Tai, the farting tennis ball!

(both laughing) What about you?

Okay!

Let's list all of them.

- [Bird] I love goth.

- He's good.

- Goth Tai.

- Yeah.

- There's Professional Tai.

- Professional, Bougie.

- Queer Tai, Bougie Tai.

- Traditional.

- Tradish, Future.

- Yeah.

So, these were all his different personas in his mind, right?

And, that's what I got from it.

And then, the little, like-?

Sliding out the paper.

What did-?

Fax machine type thing!

(Bird laughs) That was his verbalization of all that.

- Yes.

- What I think.

Okay.

- Yeah.

- But, the big thing is headdresses.

- Yes.

- Okay.

So, can you break it down to me why some people think it's offensive to wear headdresses where other people are like, "no, it's so pretty.

I want to wear a headdress."

- Well?

I mean, I think the general rule, if you're not indigenous, don't do it.

And I think this film is, like, such a great way to kind of approach the topic, you know, with funny humor, satire, and really trying to kind of like get the point across.

Because, I know that I've never had this situation happen to me, and I actually would be like, Tai, all the voices inside my head (Bird laughs) and be like, "Uh, uh?

What do you say?

What do you do?"

But, I know friends who will walk over to people and just rip them off and read them the riot act.

And so-?

- Oh, wow.

- You know, I think it's just a lesson that non-indigenous people need to learn.

Don't do it because headdresses are sacred to different tribes, - That's a big-- - bottom line.

- I think that's the biggest thing is just out of respect, yeah.

- Don't do it.

- But, yeah.

I really liked it.

Great film.

And so, I think-?

What's next?

- I think we have to close.

- Oh, we do?

No, I don't wanna leave yet!

(Bird laughing) - Sorry!

- You like my hesitation?

Okay, I guess we're closing!

Such a fun episode.

Great two films.

- Yes.

- So fun catching up with you, and gettin' educated.

- Here, here.

- But, until next time.

- Yeah.

- We'll see ya later-?

Alligator!

(Bird laughs) ♪ - [Ariel] On today's episode, this body suit is by Choke Cherry Creek, the earrings by Osa Roan.

(laughter) - [Bird] And today, I'm wearing a silver bracelet by Jennifer Younger, and silver jewelry by Cody Sanderson.

♪ - [Announcer] This series was created in partnership with the Sundance Institute.

More information at sundance.org Funding for "Native Shorts" was made possible by a generous grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and from viewers like you.