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- By Native News Online Staff
Last week, Gather was named the best documentary in the 2022 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media award cycle.
The full-length film, directed by Sanjay Rawal in collaboration with First Nations Development Institute and produced by Tanya Mellier and Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), tells the story of Native resilience through Indigenous chefs, scientists, and climate activists working towards reclaiming traditional food systems.
Gather follows Nephi Craig, a White Mountain Apache Nation chef who opened an Indigenous cafe as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a Cheyenne River Sioux Nation scientist conducting landmark studies on bison; and a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation working to save the Klamath river.
“Indigenous people and their food systems are resilient,” The First Nations Development Institute wrote on its website. “We have withstood historical and ongoing attempts to starve, change, and alter every facet of our food systems. But we hold strong to our knowledge that food is a connection to our past, to our people, and to our lands.”
The James Beard Media Awards, which recognize excellence in a food-related documentary production, were announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 11. Additionally, Owamni By The Sioux Chef, an Indigenous-cuisine restaurant in Minneapolis, won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant.
First Nations CEO Michael Roberts (Tlingit) called the achievement a win for everyone advancing Native food systems.
“Gather is a story that everyone needs to see, and winning this award only increases the impact of this film and its message about the resilience of Native communities,” he wrote in a statement.
The film is available for streaming on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and Vimeo.
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