The Klabona Keepers
A Film by Tamo Campos and Jasper Snow-Rosen, in Collaboration and Solidarity with Indigenous Elders and Land Defenders of Iskut, BC.
Trailer for the film, by Tamo Campos, Jasper Snow-Rosen, and the Klabona Keepers of Iskut, BC.
Local Producer Rhoda Quock is also credited for her valuable contributions to the film.
Premiering this Spring (2022), The Klabona Keepers is a documentary that transports viewers to northern BC to observe the water protection efforts of the Klabona Keepers and their families in the small village of Iskut. This film is centered around preserving the health of the Sacred Headwaters of the pristine Skeena, Stikine, and Nass rivers (the Klabona).
I am honoured to have had the opportunity to view this film prior to its official in-person premiere, and to speak with friend, colleague, and filmmaker Tamo Campos about this impactful piece of story-telling and activism.
Throughout the film, viewers are educated on the difficult realities of extractivism, consultation and consent, intergenerational trauma, and colonialism. Despite this, the story is rooted in a perspective of abundance, enacting asset-based community development strategies. Indigenous tradition, culture, and language is uplifted and celebrated; viewers bear witness to solidarity between neighbouring Indigenous nations; and life on the land is celebrated in all its harsh beauty.
In terms of environmental documentaries, Klabona Keepers feels different. The trust between community members and filmmakers is evident, leading the viewer to feel deeply connected with the community members throughout the film. The long-term relationships between Indigenous Elders and non-Indigenous activist filmmakers date back to a chance encounter in 2013, while Iskut community members were engaged in a resistance blockade against Fortune Minerals on their traditional and unceded territory. Campos and Snow-Rosen accepted an invitation to support this remote community through their cameras by sharing their story with the world; their footage was used in real-time to expose extractive industry activity, and uphold Indigenous land and water rights.
Not only is this film a beautiful visual representation of the Pacific Northwestern landscape, but it will also leave viewers feeling a part of something greater, and encourage them to support such solidarity actions within their own communities. I laughed and cried with the Klabona Keeper Elders, I felt the weight of the responsibility to the Sacred Headwaters with the land defenders, and watching the youth of these communities express their cultural identity left me feeling hopeful for the future.
I look forward to attending this film’s premiere in Toronto, in May 2022. Donations and/or sponsorships to transport Indigenous Elders and community members from Iskut to Toronto for the viewing are needed, welcomed, and appreciated; please contact Tamo Campos through this form if you, or your organization, are able to contribute to this cause.
