Wednesday, June 20
There Once Was an Island

6:30 - 7:45 p.m.:  Welcome & Film Screening
There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho (Director Briar March). This documentary tells the story of the Polynesian community of Takuu, a low-lying atoll in the southwestern Pacific Ocean that is experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, including coastal erosion and the incursion of salt water into the gardens. The community must decide whether to move to an uncertain future in the Melanesian town of Bougainville, or stay on Takuu and face a different, but equally uncertain future. Through interviews with the people of Takuu, the film provides a glimpse of the wide range of social, cultural, political and economic issues confronting the community. (On the Level Productions, 2010, 56 min.)www.thereoncewasanisland.com.  

7:45 - 8:30: Post-screening panel discussion:
The Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Communities.  
Panelists include: Ma'Ko'Quah Abigail Jones(a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation); Heather Lazrus, environmental anthropologist scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and moderator Mervyn Tano, president, International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management.

Free (suggested donation: $5)