Rewilding Hope: Buffalo, Belonging, and the Stories That Heal

Iinniiwa: The Blackfeet Buffalo Story is more than a film. It is a living testament to how story, art, and land can transform one another, and our larger humanity. This conversation brings together INDIGENOUS LED and collaborators, including Yo-Yo Ma’s creative contribution, to explore the remarkable return of Buffalo Relatives back to Blackfeet homelands and the storytelling power and audacious vision to return 30 million buffalo to North America behind it.

We will look at how Indigenous-led conservation becomes cinematic narrative, how the film fuses culture and environmental action, and how restoring buffalo and the dignity of that relationship inspires a new way forward for filmmaking and for the planet. This session is for filmmakers interested in story as healing, as movement building, and as a catalyst for profound ecological and cultural renewal.

Moderator: Mandalit del Barco, NPR

Speakers:

• Maurine D. Knighton, Chief Program Officer, Doris Duke Foundation
• Cristina Mormorunni, Co-Founder & Director, INDIGENOUS LED
• Arlan Edwards, Blackfeet Singer, Songwriter and Story Keeper
• Ervin Carlson, INDIGENOUS LED’s co-founder, Blackfeet Buffalo Program Director and the President of the InterTribal Buffalo Council.