Music Matters
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As Heard on Morning Line: Native Viral Video

Rodney McCord

As network speeds and technology improvements continue, it means a person with a smart phone can produce, edit and broadcast video right from their pocket.  

Recently, Cook Inlet Tribal Council Facility Maintenence Support Specialist, Rodney McCord created a video on Facebook featuring his mother Frieda expertly deboning a salmon.   Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/rodney.mccord.9/videos/862683900468014/

The video runs for about 4 minutes, and in the space of about a week, was viewed over 30,000 times. 

Credit https://www.webreatheagain.com/
The film is billed as "Four Stories of Heartbreak and Healing in Alaska" It is a feature documentary, and has huge amounts of support from organizations across Alaska, and was completed in only 6 years.

Viral video and social media seem to go hand in hand - In fact, a fully produced, professional level project called We Breathe Again, using high-end production equipment and professional staff like Enei Begaye, Evon Peter, Visionmaker Media, Maya Salganek, Paola Prestini, Vivien Hillgrove, Ryan Jacobi, & Marsh Chamberlain as the director, has completely packed film houses, seemingly on word of mouth as well as sharing on social media on it's premiere in Fairbanks, as well as tonight in Anchorage at the Tikhatnu Regal Cinemas, from 7pm to 9pm.  

The film is a huge collaboration between many agencies and artists and communities across Alaska, but oddly, hasn't gained much press.  However, that hasn't stopped it from being sold out online for tonight's Anchorage premiere, although there may be seats available at the door.  

The Event listing for the Screening says:

"We Breathe Again by Evon Peter - Film Screening and Q&A

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium invites you to join this free film screening and panel discussion with University of Alaska Fairbanks Vice Chancellor Evon Peter and film participants!

We Breathe Again
For centuries survival was difficult for Alaska Native people, but they lived full lives. Today survival is easier, but they are dying young. Alaska Native people sustained their way of life through a social, cultural and spiritual balance, but the traumatic ramifications of colonization have left many scars that continue to be passed down from generation to generation.

Rarely heard of 40 years ago, suicide among Alaska Native people is now a silent epidemic 3.5 times higher than the national average, affecting Alaska Native men between the ages of 15-24 at the highest rate in the country. Alaska's rate of alcohol-related deaths is more than double the rest of the nation, with Alaska Natives accounting for half of those deaths. We Breathe Again explores the intimate stories of five Alaska Natives, who are each confronting the impacts of historical trauma in their lives."

Below is a link to the Fairbanks post-screening Question and Answer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eHHN-zQX6E?t=3m25s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eHHN-zQX6E

Related Content