Honor Thy Mother is the untold story of over 35 Aboriginal women from Canada and Native women from tribes in Washington and Alaska who migrated to Bainbridge Island, the traditional territory of the Suquamish people, in the early 1940s. They came, some still in their teens, to pick berries for Japanese American farmers. Many, just released from the Indian Residential Schools, fell in love in the berry fields and married Filipino immigrants. Despite having left their homeland and possible disenfranchisement from their tribes, they settled on the Island to raise their mixed heritage (Indipino) children. The voices of the Indipinos, now elders, are integral in the storytelling of their mother’s experiences marrying Asian men and settling in a foreign land. They share their confusion of growing up with no sense of belonging in either culture, growing up in poverty as the children of berry farmers, some with no running water, electricity or indoor plumbing, growing up in a post-World War II racist society and educational system. Many grew up in homes burdened with their father and mother’s memory of the 227 Bainbridge Island Japanese Americans forcibly removed from their homes after President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19th, 1942. Brought to light, in the oral history interviews of the adult Indipinos, is the effect that historical trauma has on children, more specifically children whose mothers grew up in Indian Residential Schools.
“So everything for us was Filipino. And we didn’t even know that we were Indigenous children as well. Because when my dad had berry pickers come down from Canada, we thought they were Indians, and we were Filipinos. And my sister, one time said, Let’s go play with the Indians. And I said, Okay, let’s go. I think the chief is there. And we laughed because one little boy said, I’m an ancestral chief. We didn’t know anything about our culture. We didn’t know we were Indigenous. We thought that was funny that he said that he was an ancestral chief. So it wasn’t until we were adults that we started seeking out who our mother was, who our relatives were in Canada, and we started constructing our own identity.”
-Gina Corpuz
Daughter of Evelyn Williams
Skwxwu7mesh Uxwumixw Squamish Nation,
British Columbia
To learn about upcoming screenings, some of which are virtual including the American Indian Film Festival Nov 5-13 visit http://stourwater.com/news/.
VIEW THE TRAILER HERE
Honor Thy Mother – Trailer from Stourwater Pictures on Vimeo.
Inquiries can be made to: Lucy Ostrander, 206.780.6928, lucy@stourwater.com
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Please give me details about Honor Thy Mother film. When, where, ticket info. Thank you
Please give me details about Honor Thy Mother film. When, where, ticket info. Thank you
View lessHi Elisa Marie,
We are confirming the details but our last information is that it'll be screened on Oct 11 at BHS. As soon as we have more details we'll create an event with the ticket info etc.
Thank you for asking and we'll keep you posted.
Currents Editorial Team
Hi Elisa Marie,
We are confirming the details but our last information is that it'll be screened on Oct 11 at BHS. As soon as we have more details we'll create an event with the ticket info etc.
Thank you for asking and we'll keep you posted.
Currents Editorial Team
View lessHi Elsa Marie
It'll take place Oct 11 from 4-5:30pm at the BHS performing arts center. Tickets are free but donations are welcome.
You'll be seeing it as an event on our calendar and in our eblast in the coming weeks.
Thanks,
Inez
Hi Elsa Marie
It'll take place Oct 11 from 4-5:30pm at the BHS performing arts center. Tickets are free but donations are welcome.
You'll be seeing it as an event on our calendar and in our eblast in the coming weeks.
Thanks,
View lessInez
I would love to see this movie. I am in the San Francisco bay area and would like to know how I can see this film. My dad was filopino and mother german.
I would love to see this movie. I am in the San Francisco bay area and would like to know how I can see this film. My dad was filopino and mother german.
View lessHi Leonora,
What a rich heritage you have!
Right now the film is still being screened in small theaters - like Bainbridge Island on Oct 11 from 4-5:30pm at the Bainbridge Highschool performing arts center. Tickets are free but donations are welcome. We can make inquiries about when it'll be available for rent or purchase.
Thanks,
Currents Editorial Team
Hi Leonora,
What a rich heritage you have!
Right now the film is still being screened in small theaters - like Bainbridge Island on Oct 11 from 4-5:30pm at the Bainbridge Highschool performing arts center. Tickets are free but donations are welcome. We can make inquiries about when it'll be available for rent or purchase.
Thanks,
View lessCurrents Editorial Team
Hi Leonora,
You can purchase the DVD of this film here: https://stourwater.com/films/honor-thy-mother/trailer/
Thank you for your interest.
Best,
Inez
Hi Leonora,
You can purchase the DVD of this film here: https://stourwater.com/films/honor-thy-mother/trailer/
Thank you for your interest.
Best,
View lessInez
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