You are warmly invited to this community event honoring local indigenous women leaders and an exclusive screening of "The Eternal Song" to be held at the Irvine Auditorium at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Doors open at 4:30pm.  

The event commences at 5pm with a special panel discussion to honor local indigenous women leaders from the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal Community and Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, as part of the Jan Knippers Black Award for contributions to human rights.  This session will be followed by a brief intermission with a traditional native food offering from 6-6:30pm.  

The film screening of "The Eternal Song" will start at 6:30pm, followed by a Q & A with the filmmakers: Maurizio &  Zaya Benazzo and cinematographer, Caroline Campbell.  This event is co-sponsored by the Jan Knippers Black Fund for Human Rights Protection, Conflict Transformation Collaborative, and the Big Sur Land Trust.  Please click on "Get your Ticket," so we can anticipate the number of attendees.  We will have some availability for walk-ins. 

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

The Eternal Song is a cinematic journey through timeless lands and their Indigenous cultures. Voices from around the world and across generations call us to witness the deep, ongoing scars of colonization on lands and peoples, and the healing that comes through ancestral wisdom. Entrusted with medicine stories, we grapple with colonial legacies, intergenerational trauma, our own fragmentation and culture of separation.

The film reveals how modernity severs our connection to nature, each other, and the ancestral realm, while feeding us empty promises of salvation, unlimited consumption and economic growth, and individual happiness. As we are drawn into the intricate web of kinship and honoring the living presence of Mother Earth, we awaken a remembrance. A sacred dance comes to life and we begin to hear the eternal song of Life itself, calling us back to belonging.

The Eternal Song

Jana Nason

Violet Smith

Cari Herthel

Linda Yamane

The Irvine Auditorium is located in the McCone Building at 499 Pierce Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Attendees should enter through the glass doors from Pierce Street, and the Irvine Auditorium is located inside.  You may check in at the desk in the foyer. Free parking in all campus lots.  Carpooling encouraged. Observe parking restrictions on city streets. 