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610-779-8226; 800-543-3764; P.O. Box 149 Oley, PA 19547
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Bullfrog Films

is a leading source of educational DVDs & videos, with a collection of over 700 titles in these main subject areas:

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Unconquering the Last Frontier

Chronicles Native Americans' struggle to survive in the midst of hydroelectric development.


A printer-friendly version of this page 57 minutes
Produced by Robert Lundahl
Narrated by Gary Farmer
Supervising Producer: Chris Simon
Production Manager: John Lieske





"Portrays the dignity and wisdom of the Lower Elwha Klallam." Adam Burke, High Country News
Long before corporations like Enron and Global Crossing made headlines with accusations of greed and impropriety, there was Olympic Power and Development.

Olympic Power, in violation of Washington State law, erected a dam on the Elwha River in 1910. Over the course of the ensuing years, it became clear that the river and its almost incredulously large salmon runs had been sacrificed for hydropower development. Such development was commonly referred to as "progress." Nonetheless, it was progress which occurred at tragic expense to the Native American, Elwha Klallam people, who relied upon the river for their sustenance.

Even after the devastating impacts to the river's fisheries and to the tribal community became known, the prevailing social myths, that hydropower was cheap, that it was clean, and that it was beneficial for everybody, continued to be perpetuated.

The film tells the story of the 90-year long struggle of the Elwha tribal community to challenge these perceptions, and eventually to lobby Congress for the removal of the dams and for the restoration of the river's ecosystem and fisheries. It is a struggle which is now producing rewards. Beginning in 2004, the two dams on the Elwha will be removed by the federal government, in the largest dam decommissioning project in the world.

For the Elwha Klallam and for the people of the town of Port Angeles, dam removal provides opportunities for cultural reconciliation and economic renewal.



Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2002     Copyright Date: 2002
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-242-4     VHS ISBN: 1-56029-919-3




Reviews
"Portrays the dignity and wisdom of the Lower Elwha Klallam in the face of almost half a century of racism and political ill-will...shows us how the tribe has taken center stage in the efforts to retain what's left of Elwha salmon stocks. When the stocks return, more than the ecology will be restored...the tribe will have salmon to complete the circle of traditional ceremonial ways."
Adam Burke, High Country News

"Highlights the injustices done to the Lower Elwha Klallam people who relied on the salmon for sustenance, both physical and spiritual, and who paid the price for the dam's cheap electricity."
Sierra Magazine

"It was moving to watch our elders interviewed in the film, and to hear their stories. The young kids in our tribe that are growing up today - they'll have this film to look back on, they'll have the video and the storytelling in it. And they'll know where we come from."
Dennis Sullivan, tribal chair of the Lower Elwha Klallam


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Links
Study guide


Awards and Festivals
First Place, EarthVision International Environmental Video Festival
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Finalist, International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula
American Anthropological Association Film & Video Festival
Ekotopfilm, Slovakia
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
REAL2REEL Documentary Film Festival
El Festival del Riu, Spain
Great Lakes Independent Film Festival
Moab Film Festival
Anchorage Film Festival
International Film Festival of the Americas

Subjects
American Studies
Anthropology
Earth Science
Ecology
Energy
Ethics
Fisheries
Geography
Human Rights
Humanities
Indigenous Peoples
Native Americans
Population
Race and Racism
Renewable Energy
Rivers
Science
Technology
Society

Social Justice
Sociology
Water
Western US


Related Titles

DamNation
Explores the sea change in national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the call for dam removal as awareness grows that our own future is bound to the health of our rivers.

Drowned Out
An Indian family chooses to stay at home and drown rather than make way for the Narmada Dam.

Water On The Table
An intimate portrait of international water activist Maude Barlow and the debate over whether water is a commercial good or a human right.

Thirst
A piercing look at the global corporate drive to control and profit from our water -- from bottles to tap.

Water First
An inspiring story from Malawi shows that clean water is essential for the achievement of the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

The Water Front
In Highland Park, MI an unelected, state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager with quasi dictatorial authority sees water privatization as key to economic recovery.

In the Light of Reverence
A stunning portrait of land-use conflicts over Native American sacred sites on public and private land around the West from the producers of STANDING ON SACRED GROUND.


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