Filmmaker Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso is pictured here (center) among Indigenous activists she interviews in “Powerlands.”
By Helen Quinn-Pasin
Editor’s note: “Powerlands” will screen as part of the One Earth Film Fest on Tuesday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. CST, both virtually and in person at two locations: Pilot Project Brewing in Chicago and Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park. Get tickets for all options here.
Ivey-Camille Manybeads Tso is a young Navajo filmmaker who investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies exploiting the land where she was born. Her award-winning documentary, “Powerlands,” chronicles the eerily similar struggles of Indigenous communities across Colombia, the Philippines, Mexico, and Standing Rock. Despite being worlds apart, these communities face the same battles against the same big energy companies, like Peabody, BHP and Glencore.
“First came colonization. Now corporations are stealing the resources from under our feet. The extraction is global, and so is the resistance.”
Manybeads Tso was born into a family with a long history of resistance. Her family traces their lineage 85 generations back. “Powerlands” is a representation of her personal and political resistance.
In an interview with the One Earth Film Festival, Manybeads Tso says, “I was fortunate to have teachers, like Danny Blackgoat, that taught us about our culture and history. And part of learning this history was learning about the roots and connections between Indigenous communities and our struggles.”
Across three continents, oil, coal, and uranium companies have forced Indigenous communities off their land. Indigenous people risk their lives on the Philippine island of Mindanao when speaking out and protesting against Glencore and BHP. Activists are harassed, tortured, and entire families are even killed. In La Guajira, Columbia, Afro-Columbians come together with the Wayúu people to go up against Cerrjón, a coal mine owned by Glencore. Hundreds of their families have already been relocated multiple times by force, eviction, and cruel tactics like turning off their community’s access to electricity and running water. Their livestock gets sick and dies, and the water is contaminated. This story repeats itself with eerie similarity in Oaxaca and Standing Rock.
In Mindanao, Philippines, Indigenous activists risk everything to protest the brutal murder of the Capion family.
Manybeads Tso started the film to document resource colonization, and along the way, she realized she was not alone. The most powerful aspect of making “Powerlands” for her was the deep connection she experienced with families in different communities, worlds apart. She learned just how much they had in common. The similarities were both cultural and situational because they were up against the same corporations using the same tactics to marginalize them and deplete their resources. “The resistance they were leading deeply inspired me, and I think it’s at the heart of my film,” she says.
To anyone who wants to join the resistance, Manybeads advises, “Look in your own community. These issues are everywhere. Look to Indigenous resistance happening near you. The people closest to the problem are closest to the solution, so follow the lead of those most affected.” Today, the filmmakers of “Powerlands” are still working to bring their story to local organizations on the frontlines of the resistance. They hope that this film shows that everyone is connected and resistance to corporate exploitation brings everyone into this global struggle.
“We learn resistance from our elders and each other. We will not back down.”