Hei Whakakitenga - The Declaration of Indigenous Cinema

WE THE INDIGENOUS SCREEN STORYTELLERS UNITED IN THIS NORTHERN CORNER OF OUR MOTHER, THE EARTH In a great assembly of wisdom we declare to all nations:

WE GLORY IN OUR PAST: • when our earth was nurturing our oral traditions • when night sky evoked visions animated in our dreams • when the sun and the moon became our parents in stories told • when storytelling made us all brothers and sisters • when our stories fostered great chiefs and leaders • when justice was encouraged through the stories told

WE WILL: • hold and manage Indigenous cultural and intellectual property • be recognised as the primary guardians and interpreters of our culture • respect Indigenous individuals and communities • nourish knowledge from our traditions to modern screen appearance • use our skills to communicate with nature and all living things • through screen storytelling heal our wounds • through modern screen expression carry our stories to those not yet born And thus through motion picture, we will make the invisible visible again. We vow to manage our own destiny and recover our complete humanity in pride in being Indigenous screen storytellers. Created by Åsa Simma (Sámi), with Darlene Johnson (Dunghutti). Accepted at the Indigenous Film Conference in Kautokeino, Sápmi, October 2011.