Bullycide Prevention Sqilxwcut Through Filmmaking: An Urban Native Youth Performance Project

Authors

  • Monique Giard

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/cjne.v29i1.196384

Abstract

This article is a performative and poetic representation of three Native girls' spilaxem(personal narrative) dealing with racist bullying and bullycide. They speak of theirtransformative process through filmmaking and the healing aspect of presenting theirfilms to non-Native youth audiences (all students' names are pseudonyms). Thespecial value of film- and videomaking by Native youth lies in the ability to recordnuances of process, perceptions, emotions, and other subtleties. Confronting theliteracy-biased value system of modern Western society, Native youth voices areheard by sharing their own embodied, vocal, and visual perceptions of their processesand their world, thus reclaiming Native youth authoritative judgment. In this study,knitting of resilience meant interweaving three parts of one braid by co-creating aholding environment for stories of hurt to be shared, engaging wholeheartedly(emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually) in reenacting experiences oftrauma and reconnecting to a healthy individual and collective identity throughpublic denunciations. Native youth involved in the making of films togetherperformed as leaders in preventing further suicide-related and at-risk behaviors forthemselves and others.

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Published

2021-12-10

Issue

Section

Articles