American Indian-led arts nonprofit Caesar’s Ford Theatre will host a film screening and panel discussion in honor of Tecumseh Memorial Day this weekend at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs.
The event will begin with a screening of Stomping Freedom, a film produced by Caesar’s Ford Theatre.
Caesar’s Ford Theatre is a performing arts organization dedicated to producing and promoting historically accurate American Indian-led stories, using American Indian actors. The term American Indian refers to people who are citizens of federally recognized tribal nations, indicating specific political status and legal rights.
The film depicts tension between Shawnee villagers and American settlers in Ohio Country in 1778, during the American Revolution. The film was shot in the historic Shawnee homelands of Greene and Clark County. Every American Indian role in the film was played by an American Indian actor, most of whom came from outside Ohio.
“We had never shot a film like this together,” writer and director Kane Stratton said. “While it was exciting, it was also very stressful.”
Along with casting American Indian actors for American Indian roles, Stratton worked to ensure the film had accurate Shawnee dialogue.
Aubree Wensman and her father, Eric Wensman, worked as Shawnee language consultants on the film. Eric Wensman took the lead on translating pages of dialogue into Shawnee, while both worked to help actors correctly pronounce Shawnee words and phrases.
Aubree Wensman described Shawnee as a “tongue twister language,” with every actor facing their own unique difficulties.
“We taught the language in the past, but being in an environment such as making a film was completely different,” Aubree Wensman said. “A lot of these folks that we were teaching, they speak their own native language, and each language has its own cadence, its own tone.”
She noted the importance of authentic Shawnee-language art as resources for people to hear the language spoken. Aubree Wensman grew up listening to old recordings of Shawnee speakers, which she noted not everyone has access to such recordings.
“That’s something we can pass down,” Aubree Wensman said about the film and other recordings of the Shawnee language to which her family has contributed. “The world can hear it.”
The Wensmans will appear alongside Caesar’s Ford Theater director Brittany Hall for a panel discussion about the film, being Shawnee, and Tecumseh’s legacy.
The Wensmans, who are Bird Creek Shawnee, are not only attending the event as the film’s language consultants — they are also descendants of Tecumseh.
Aubree Wensman said she thought about what Tecumseh, whom she called “grandpa,” would think about events like this, considering the forced displacement of American Indians in Ohio in the 19th century.
“Would he have ever thought Shawnees would be back in Ohio, speaking our language, letting people know we are still there?”
The screening and panel discussion are from 12 to 3 p.m. Oct. 11. Tickets are $16 each and available on www.littleart.com.