After thousands of hours of filming and editing, our final four-part documentary series is emerging, as has a new title that more powerfully reflects the message of the films. In changing the series title from Losing Sacred Ground to Standing on Sacred Ground, we honor the growing international community of sacred site protection advocates, through whom renewed reverence is emerging for sacred landscapes all over the Earth.
Our working title, Losing Sacred Ground, conveyed real urgency, but as we work on the stories, what has come to the forefront is not fear and loss, but determined resistance rooted in sacred places. It is a message of hope and healing. We think this new title conveys the incredible commitment and creativity demonstrated by indigenous communities and their supporters around the world.
To learn more about our work pleae check out our 2011 annual report, and a wonderful letter of support from Bill McKibben. And if you would like to join our community of sacred land defenders, please make a tax-deductible year-end donation to help us complete the series and meet our deadline of releasing the film series in 2012. Thanks again for your support!
A 2005 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, titled “Beyond Belief,” concluded: “Sacred sites are the oldest method of habitat protection on the planet.” Yet these biological and cultural treasures are under assault — as are the people who have been safeguarding them for millennia. Building on the success of our award-winning PBS documentary, the Sacred Land Film Project (SLFP) is producing a four-part film series for public television titled Standing on Sacred Ground. The series will expose corporate and environmental assaults on indigenous peoples’ sacred landscapes and promote strategies to protect the ecological integrity of these endangered places.
The film will tell eight distinct stories from the viewpoints of diverse indigenous communities — stories that evoke ancient and contemporary spiritual connections to earth, while exploring how the health of our global environment can be sustained through respectful understanding of the sacred lands and traditions of these native peoples.
In making Standing on Sacred Ground, SLFP has filmed cultural landscapes on five continents: the Altai Republic of Russia, Aboriginal Australia, the Andes of Peru, the Rift Valley in Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, native lands in northern California, the sacred Hawaiian island of Kahoʻolawe, and the oil sand rich boreal forest of Canada.
Now in its fourth year of production, editing is fully underway and the series will be completed in 2012. These documentaries would not be possible without the unique relationships and trust built over decades by the Sacred Land Film Project with native people around the world.
A 2005 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, titled “Beyond Belief,” concluded: “Sacred sites are the oldest method of habitat protection on the planet.” Yet these biological and cultural treasures are under assault — as are the people who have been safeguarding them for millennia. Building on the success of our award-winning PBS documentary, the Sacred Land Film Project (SLFP) is producing a four-part film series for public television titled Standing on Sacred Ground. The series will expose corporate and environmental assaults on indigenous peoples’ sacred landscapes and promote strategies to protect the ecological integrity of these endangered places.
The film will tell eight distinct stories from the viewpoints of diverse indigenous communities — stories that evoke ancient and contemporary spiritual connections to earth, while exploring how the health of our global environment can be sustained through respectful understanding of the sacred lands and traditions of these native peoples.
In making Standing on Sacred Ground, SLFP has filmed cultural landscapes on five continents: the Altai Republic of Russia, Aboriginal Australia, the Andes of Peru, the Rift Valley in Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, native lands in northern California, the sacred Hawaiian island of Kahoʻolawe, and the oil sand rich boreal forest of Canada.
Now in its fourth year of production, editing is fully underway and the series will be completed in 2012. These documentaries would not be possible without the unique relationships and trust built over decades by the Sacred Land Film Project with native people around the world.
