The Klabona Keepers

This screening took place on Friday, February 17, 2023 at 6:00 pmYukon Theatre

The Klabona Keepers is a fierce account of the Tahltan Nation’s struggle to protect the Klabona Sacred Headwaters, an important natural habitat in northwest British Columbia, from commercial mining.

The documentary intersperses verité cinematography with intimate interviews. It is an in-depth account of the different methods of resistance used by Indigenous elders, which include blockades and tense stand-offs with police and mining industry workers. Powerful moments of reflection are felt throughout the film as the trauma of residential schools and forced relocations are brought to light.

Content advisory:

triggers for residential school, drug and alcohol abuse

FILMMAKERS STATEMENT

This documentary was made by two non-Indigenous filmmakers, Tamo Campos and Jasper Snow-Rosen, who happened to stop at the Iskut gas station in 2013. What was meant to be a pit-stop turned into a conversation, then an invitation and finally being asked by the community to film their actions this summer. The Klabana Keepers were in the midst of mounting active blockades against Fortune Minerals in the Klappan area. The two filmmakers used their cameras and gear to upload footage of the blockades,allowing the community to gain crucial media attention by shining a spotlight on what was happening. Their quick dip into Iskut turned into seven weeks on the blockade, and their lives turned upside down by the courageous stand of the Iskut elders. In 2015, Tamo and Jasper began working on a feature film in collaboration with Rhoda Quock, the spokesperson of the Klabona Keepers and the Klabona elders. Created in a spirit of constant collaboration and with direction from the elders, The Klabona Keepers is a love letter to the community that changed their lives. Its ambition is to capture the beauty, resilience, and intricacies of a long fight in hopes of inspiring a better future. This film's intellectual property is owned by elders Mary Quock, Rita Louie and Bertha Louie with all proceeds from the film going towards a fund for youth programming in the Klabona Sacred Headwaters.