“Peoples of the Susquehanna,” an original documentary film produced by Bucknell University and WVIA Public Media, will premiere locally on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Campus Theatre, 413 Market Street, during a free screening. The one-hour program examines the history, cultures and traditions of the Native Americans of the Susquehanna River watershed.
The half-hour Bucknell student documentary, “The Coopers and Conservation at the Headwaters of the Susquehanna,” will also be shown immediately after the WVIA production. It focuses on Cooperstown, N.Y., and the writings and influences of James and Susan Fenimore Cooper. Both wrote extensively about nature, and the film will explore the way their work inspired others to think and care about nature, and how that is exemplified in Cooperstown. Students were aided in that project by WVIA’s Kris Hendrickson, director and editor of the longer documentary.
Tickets will be sold at theatre box office the night of the show and are $7 for adults, $6 for kids (11 & under), seniors (age 55 & up), students and military veterans, and $5 for Campus Theatre members.
“Peoples of the Susquehanna” explores tribes of the Eastern Woodlands, the Susquehannocks, the Lenni Lenape and the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy as well as findings of varied prehistoric tribes whose existence dates back over 1,000 years ago.
Hendrickson interviewed leaders, artists, teachers and citizens of the Lenni Lenape and Iroquois Confederacy learning of their traditions, their philosophies and how they influence today’s industrial world. The documentary will first air on WVIA-TV on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.
Since 2010, the Stories of the Susquehanna Valley environmental humanities project at Bucknell has been developing interdisciplinary curriculum, undergraduate work and published scholarly and digital projects, including student-produced documentaries.