Highlighting Indigenous Voices at Bay Street Theater

November is National Native American Heritage Month. In commemoration, Bay Street Theater will host an exhibition of photography by Shinnecock Nation artist and filmmaker Jeremy Dennis as well as a short film series by the Reciprocity Project titled “Amplifying Indigenous Voices.”

Dennis’s photo exhibition, “Views From Shinnecock,” will be on display in the lobby of the theater through Saturday, December 31. In addition, Dennis’s short film, Ma’s House,” will be shown on Sunday, November 13, at 5 p.m. along with six other films that tell Indigenous stories.

“The amazing thing is that it’s going to be seven short documentaries all made by native filmmakers,” Dennis explained of “Amplifying Indigenous Voices” last week as he was putting the finishing touches on his photo exhibition.

In “Views From Shinnecock,” Dennis explores Indigenous identity, cultural assimilation and the ancestral traditional practices of the Shinnecock Indian Nation.

“My work is a means of examining my identity and the identity of my community,” Dennis said. “Specifically, the unique experience of living on a sovereign Indian reservation and the problems we face.”

The digital photography show looks to question the post-colonial narrative that dominates film and media, for example how Native Americans are depicted both in old Western movies and in more recent films such as “Dances with Wolves.”

“Ma’s House,” written and directed by Dennis, takes place on the Shinnecock Indian Territory in Southampton and focuses on the legacy of his family home. The film, Dennis explained, is about reuse and saving the homestead to continue the family legacy by building a communal art space. Dennis’s grandmother, Loretta Silva, also known as Princess Silva Arrow of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, and her husband, Peter Silva Sr., traditional chief of the Hassanamisco Band of Indians of Grafton, Massachusetts, built the four-bedroom house on the Shinnecock Territory using recycled materials from an old church in Riverhead that was built around 1845.

Dennis’s grandmother was often referred to as “Ma,” hence the name, “Ma’s House.” His grandmother held mini powwows with the whole family and other tribe members, dancing and singing in traditional regalia at the house. People visited Ma’s House to partake in viewing native craftwork, handmade beadwork, enjoy pony rides and archery, as well as eat traditional native food such as succotash and Indian corn. Dennis notes that Ma always expressed her dream of her home being turned into a museum to celebrate the heritage of the Shinnecock Nation. Dennis lived with his parents, sister and Ma at “Ma’s House” until she died in 1998 when Dennis was 8 years old.

Now, Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio Inc. is led by Dennis. Restoring the home became a project in June 2020 and now serves as an art space and residency program for artists who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. The family house, built in the 1960s, also features an art studio and library and hosts an array of art and history-based programs for tribe members and the broader local community.

“Bay Street Theater is honored to be working with Jeremy, Ma’s House, and celebrating the artistic work of the Shinnecock Nation,” Tracy Mitchell, Bay Street’s executive director, said. “Together, we hope this is just the first of many more future collaborations to come as we celebrate the contributions of all Native American peoples.”

The Reciprocity Project, which is presenting the short film series at Bay Street, is a production company that works alongside Indigenous storytellers and communities worldwide. The organization’s aim is to lift up the value of reciprocity in Indigenous ways of storytelling through film, podcasts and other creative mediums.

Adam Mazo, one of the producers of the Reciprocity Project, explained that reciprocity is “the golden rule,” do onto others as you’d have done to you.

“It’s sharing … it’s leaving a little behind for others,” Mazo explained.

The reciprocity project started two years ago in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first seven films to be screened on November 13 are part of season one, and now the producers are working on season two.

“The Earth doesn’t need us, we need the Earth,” Mazo said, adding that during the pandemic, as businesses closed and people took a step back, the Earth began to heal itself. “These Indigenous ideas can serve us all and are as vibrant and alive today as they always have been.”

The seven short films featured in the Reciprocity Project focus on tribes from Southampton all the way to Hawaii and they highlight how different Native groups are being represented throughout the United States. The Reciprocity Project is currently traveling and the films are being shown at festivals.

“It’s all about education and sharing knowledge and trying to undo stereotypes or misunderstanding about Indigenous people,” Dennis explained. “Hopefully, we can continue the legacy of having the house welcome outsiders and the public to learn about our family history and Shinnecock history.

“It’s a great change of pace to have native people behind the camera telling our own stories,” he added.

“Diiyeghan Naii Taii Tr’eedaa” (“We Will Walk the Trail of Our Ancestors”) by Princess Daazhraii Johnson with Alisha Carlson (Gwich’in). A grandfather teaches his granddaughter, a young Gwich’in mother named Alisha, how reciprocity is embedded in all aspects of life: The northern lights warm the caribou; the caribou helps feed and sustain the community; the community honors the connections.

“ᎤᏕᏲᏅ” (“What They’ve Been Taught”) by Brit Hensel with Keli Gonzales (Cherokee Nation). Filmed on the Qualla Boundary and Cherokee Nation, the film explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker.

“Sukujula Tei” (“Stories of My Mother”) by David Hernandez Palmar with Flor Palmar (Wayuu Iipuana). During a visit to her sister Amaliata, Rosa, a wise Wayuu woman, teaches her grandchildren the importance of reciprocity within their culture.

“Weckuwapasihtit” (“Those Yet to Come”) by Geo Neptune and Brianna Smith (Passamaquoddy). On the eastern reaches of the occupied territory now referred to as North America, the children of Koluskap call upon ancestral teachings to guide them.

“Weckuwapok” (“The Approaching Dawn”) by Jacob Bearchum, Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Chris Newell, Roger Paul, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector and Lauren Stevens. On these traditional homelands, Waponahkik (the people of the dawn land) bring gratitude to the sun where it first looks their way. Song and stories invite them to accept the new day and put behind them any harm done the day before.

“Ma’s House” by Jeremy Dennis (Shinnecock). Ma’s House was once the heart of a community for the Shinnecock peoples, who have remained in their same homelands for 10,000 years. As Ma’s grandson, artist and photographer Jeremy Dennis is on a quest to restore the family home to its central role as a community gathering place for a new generation of diverse artists.

“Pili Ka Moʻo” by Justyn Ah Chong With Malia Akutagawa (Kanaka Maoli). The Fukumitsu ʻOhana (family) of Hakipuʻu are Native Hawaiian taro farmers and keepers of this generational practice. While much of Oʻahu has become urbanized, Hakipuʻu remains a kīpuka (oasis) of traditional knowledge where great chiefs once resided and their bones still remain.

Jeremy Dennis’s exhibition “Views From Shinnecock” is on view daily at Bay Street Theater from 11 a.m. on through December 31 and admission is free. “Amplifying Indigenous Voices” short film series will be screened on Sunday, November 13, at 5 p.m. All proceeds from the screening support Ma’s House. A lecture and opening reception will be held immediately following the films. Tickets are $15 at baystreet.org or 631-725-9500. Bay Street Theater is on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.