Laurie Meeker

BA, Film Production/Still Photography, Southern Illinois University,1980

MFA, Film Production, University of British Columbia, 1985

I have been interested in documentary film as a tool of social change for many years. Documentary films have been central to a number of civil rights movements and have been used to provoke thought, incite discussion, change consciousness, and influence social activism. Independent films can document alternative political movements andprovide critical analysis not presented by the dominant media.

During the 70s and 80s I worked on a series of films influenced by feminist theory and activism, films that examined the status of women in western culture. These filmsanalyzed images that exploit and abages that exploit and abuse women and examined their connections to violence against women in society. In the 90s I worked on films examining gay and lesbian issues and indigenous fishing rights.

My current film in production is a feature-length documentary, an inter-cultural collaboration with Lavina Washines of the Kahmiltpah band of the Yakima Indian Nation. The film explores indigenous fishing rights and the relationship between people, the salmon, and the land. Telling an oral history of the present, the film examines traditional practices including fishing and food gathering that have brought Columbia River Native Americans into direct conflict with the dominant culture and its laws. The film documents how conflicting cultural visions of the river resulted in prison sentences for leaders and activists like David Sohappy Sr. and Wilbur Slockish Jr.

My current interests involve documentary films as tools for intercultural communication, linking diverse communities in common endeavors to protect the health of the fish and animals in an environment we all must share.

Left to Right: Elsie Jim, Ella Jim, Louise Billy, Laurie Meeker, and Lavina Washines. Front: Lester Billy. Filming a scene for The River People in Fox Valley, Oregon, June 1992.