Singing Back the Buffalo

Driven to the point of extinction in the nineteenth century, the buffalo is proving more resilient than once feared. Tasha Hubbard’s rhapsodic documentary weaves personal reflection, animated tales, interviews with land stewards, observational reportage and gorgeous nature footage. Ultimately we can see that the long-awaited return of this totem to the North American plains — a keystone species — is closely related to the strength of the Indigenous peoples, whose cooperation and coordination has been indispensable in a remarkable ecological revival.

Filmmaker Bio: Tasha Hubbard

Dr. Tasha Hubbard is a writer, filmmaker and associate professor at the University of Alberta. She is from Peepeekisis First Nation in Treaty Four Territory and has ties to Thunderchild First Nation in Treaty Six Territory. Her academic research has focussed on Indigenous efforts to return the buffalo to the lands and Indigenous film in North America. Her first solo writing/directing project, Two Worlds Colliding, about Saskatoon’s infamous “starlight tours,” premiered at imagineNATIVE in 2004 and won the Canada Award at the Gemini Awards in 2005. In 2017, Tasha directed the feature documentary Birth of a Family, about a Sixties Scoop family coming together for the first time during a holiday in Banff. nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, a personal exploration of the cost of the death of Colten Boushie, won multiple accolades and has been recognized as one of the key Canadian documentaries of the last few years.

Sept 13 & 15: Q&A with Jade Tootoosis, Impact Producer, and Glenda Abbott

Jade Tootoosis — Impact Producer
Jade Tootoosis is a proud Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory and is also a member of the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Nation in Montana. With extensive experience in education, Indigenous justice advocacy, and community relations, Jade is dedicated to uplifting and amplifying the voices, truth and knowledge of Indigenous peoples. Jade is an Impact Producer for the film Singing Back the Buffalo, where she continues to advocate for Indigenous communities and their stories.

Glenda Abbott
Glenda Abbott is nehiyaw-Plains Cree from Pelican Lake First Nation, Saskatchewan in Treaty 6 Territory, Canada. Glenda works with the International Buffalo Relations Institute on the SAGE- ē kānātahk askiy Project and is the Lead Technical Assistant with the Indigenous Birth Justice Network. Glenda is a grandmother and mother who has dedicated much of her time learning from knowledge keepers to revitalize and reclaim Indigenous knowledge systems.