Pathfinder
The Untold Story of the "Indian Business"
- A Struggle for Self Determination
- Told Through the Eyes of One of its
- Most Effective Proponents
About the Film
Pathfinder: The Untold Story of the "Indian Business" is a documentary series currently in production about the "Fourth World's" struggle for self-determination and overcoming bigotry and internalized traumas, told through the eyes of one of its most effective proponents, Dr. Rudolph Rÿser. It is an untold story on the verge of being lost and one that will guide a new generation of Indigenous leadership.
Pathfinder offers a behind-the-scenes peek into the Indigenous Sovereignty Movement, told through the life and work of Dr. Rudolph C. Rÿser (Oneida/Cree/Swiss), an Indigenous leader who has shaped and defined some of the most formative events in national and global Indigenous Affairs during the past fifty years. Dr. Rudy, as those who know him endearingly call him, stood up to the most powerful institutions in the world — the IMF, World Bank, and the U.S. government, among others, for the cause of Indigenous self-determination.
In this film Dr. Rÿser and others recount the vision, goals, and battles for Indigenous sovereignty in the United States and worldwide; and the threat that losing this history poses for Indigenous struggles today.
Outtakes
Asserting Self-Determination: Activist Scholars Discuss the Work of Rudolph Rÿser
In this 30-minute discussion, activist scholars Dina Gilio-Whitaker and Sociologist Erich Steinman, Ph.D., discuss the influence of CWIS Founder and Chair Dr. Rudolph Rÿser's seminal theories and praxis of Indigenous self-determination on the development of their thinking and writing.
Henry Cagey — Values in Education
Henry Cagey, Elder and Lummi Council leader, talks about his role in bringing education funds to the Lummi Nation and the importance of ensuring native youth are learning about their own history and people.
Jay Taber — Christian Patriots Part 1
Investigative Reporter Jay Taber describes his first encounters with the far right-wing Christian nationalist Anti-Indian Movement and his concept of monitory democracy.
Gary Morishima — Working for the Common Good
Gary Morishima, Natural Resource Advisor for the Quinault Nation for the past 50 years, discusses how his personal history of being born in a Japanese concentration camp during World War Two informs his work in Indigenous Forestry Management.
Amelia Marchand — Integration of Tribal Laws
Center for World Indigenous Studies board member, environmental activist, and Tribal Climate Liaison for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Amelia Marchand, discusses her work pushing for integrating tribal customs and traditions into colonial law.
Credits
- Directed by Leslie E. Korn
- Written by Leslie E. Korn
- Produced by Leslie E. Korn and Nadine T. Brown
- Cinematography by Max Montalban
- Narrated by Christian W.C. Rÿser
- Music by Jon Rÿser