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T'Lina: The Rendering of Wealth

1999 50 min
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Every spring the people of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation travel to Knight Inlet on the BC coast for the annual harvest of eulachon, a small fish from which they extract t'lina, an oil which occupies a central place in their traditional culture and economy. Filmmaker Barb Cranmer's family has participated in this ritual for generations. T'lina was traded among the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest for centuries, valued as a food staple and an important ceremonial substance. In a celebratory gesture of thanksgiving, chiefs distribute it at festive potlatches, where dancers carry giant carved ladles of the oil. In recent …

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T'Lina: The Rendering of Wealth

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Every spring the people of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation travel to Knight Inlet on the BC coast for the annual harvest of eulachon, a small fish from which they extract t'lina, an oil which occupies a central place in their traditional culture and economy. Filmmaker Barb Cranmer's family has participated in this ritual for generations. T'lina was traded among the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest for centuries, valued as a food staple and an important ceremonial substance. In a celebratory gesture of thanksgiving, chiefs distribute it at festive potlatches, where dancers carry giant carved ladles of the oil. In recent year, the eulachon's numbers have been depleted though habitat destruction, by industrial logging and overfishing by shrimp draggers, which net eulachon as unwanted by-catch. Combining footage of a contemporary harvest with archival images, Cranmer raises the alarm on the uncertain future facing this vital cultural practice and offers a lively history of a dynamic coastal First Nation.

  • director
    Barb Cranmer
  • script
    Barb Cranmer
  • producer
    Cari Green
    Barb Cranmer
    Selwyn Jacob
  • photography
    Doug Sjoquist
  • editing
    Bill Campbell
  • sound recording
    Jeff Henschel
  • sound
    Marc Benoit
  • re-recording
    Marc Benoit
  • online editing
    Kyle Koch

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T'Lina: The Rendering of Wealth
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