EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
DATE: 6 p.m. Monday, April 14, 2025
EVENT: The University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy will present a free screening event of the Oscar-nominated documentary, “Sugarcane,” with a Q&A session featuring filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.
This documentary investigates the abuse and missing children at Canada’s St. Joseph’s Mission, a Catholic-run Indigenous boarding school near Williams Lake, British Columbia, operational until 1981. It highlights a community’s journey to overcome intergenerational trauma.
The film debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, earning the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.
Kassie is both an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and an investigative journalist. NoiseCat, a writer and Oscar-nominated filmmaker, also studies Salish art and history and is the first North American Indigenous filmmaker nominated for an Academy Award.
“Sugarcane” had the honor of a White House screening, attended by then-Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
Former President Joe Biden praised the film, stating, “‘Sugarcane’ shines light on this shameful chapter of history, helping ensure it’s never forgotten or repeated.”
NoiseCat delivered the Ford School’s 2022 commencement address and was one of the initial Center for Racial Justice fellows for the 2022-23 academic year. During his time at the Ford School, he worked on “Sugarcane” and his forthcoming book, “We Survived the Night,” which aims to reclaim narratives about Indigenous communities in the U.S. and Canada.
PLACE: Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor
SPONSORS: Department of American Culture, Native American Studies, Native American Student Association
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