Apr 02, 2006 - 03:07:05 CDT
A documentary film like "Waterbuster" was not made in the years immediately after the taking and flooding of the Missouri River Valley, a decision that submerged farms, ranches and communities mostly on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, home of the Mandan,Hidatsa and Arikara nations in North Dakota. For the displaced people, it was too painful. And, the full consequences of the deluge weren't clear.Time and space were required. People who lived through the construction of the dam and the flooding of the valley in the late 1940s and early 1950s and their descendants could not bring themselves to speak about it.
Although filmmaker J. Carlos Peinado says the film could have happened at any time along the way, the reluctance of people on Fort Berthold to talk about what had happened was one of the things that brought him to the project. An enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and with strong documentary film credentials, Peinado offers a 78-minute documentary dealing with Garrison Dam, the people of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and, in a large sense, all North Dakotans.
"Waterbuster" will have its first public showing at 7 p.m. Monday in the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. Following the film, Peinada will be joined by Paul VanDevelder, author of "Coyote Warrior," a nonfiction work on much the same subject published in 2004, for a discussion and a reception.
Vermont-based actor and filmmaker Peinado lived in the Phoenix area in his earliest years and then moved to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. At age 14, he was sent to boarding school at Phillips-Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He studied film and cultural anthropology at Dartmouth College.
Peinado belongs to the Waterbuster Clan, and, growing up, had a strong relationship with his grandmother, according to a "Waterbuster" release. And Peinado writes, "As a child, I had never known that my family used to live beneath its (Lake Sakakawea) waves in a beloved community called Elbowoods. As an adult, I became fascinated with this lost home and what it meant to my family." Out of this grew the documentary film.
North Dakotans will recognize many of the voices and faces in "Waterbuster." In the two years of filming, Peinado interviewed many people, among them were Calvin Grinnell, Fredrick Baker, Pat Fredericks and Martin Cross.
The flooding of the Missouri River Valley for Garrison Dam presents an emotional, dark topic for many tribal members, and the film reflects that. However, in a recent telephone interview, Peinado said as the documentary comes to a close he tried to be "uplifting but cautionary."
And, Peinado said, "It's really incumbent on Native Americans to continue the history and traditions of the tribes the best that they can."
VanDevelder's book "Coyote Warrior" was just coming out as Peinado and Daphne Ross, co-writer and co-producer of "Waterbuster," began to film. "It was wonderful serendipity," Peinado said.
The premiere showing and North Dakota tour of "Waterbuster" is a program of the North Dakota Humanities Council.
"The humanities council is interested in supporting history, literature and culture about issues that relate directly to North Dakotans," says humanities council executive director Janet Daley. "The premiere is an opportunity for people most affected by the issues related to Garrison Dam to experience it first."
Following the Bismarck presentations, Peinado, VanDevelder and "Waterbuster" will then travel to New Town for a 6 p.m. Tuesday showing at the Four Bears Community College, to Minot for a 7 p.m. Wednesday showing at Aleshire Auditorium at Minot State University, and to Grand Forks for a 7:30 p.m. Thursday viewing at the University of North Dakota Student Union.
"Waterbuster" also will be one of several films premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April.
J. Carlos Peinado wrote on Apr 2, 2006 10:15 AM:
Steve Z wrote on Apr 2, 2006 7:36 AM:
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