As the world of brand names and politicians offer their bandwagon platitudes for the summer of 2020 we’ve been thinking a lot about what that means for us. On the surface of it, conversations about wildlife, nature, conservation, climate change, mass extinction, and more – don’t often feel like there is a direct connection with racism, LGBTQ rights, gender equality, rampant runaway nationalism, classism, wealth inequality... And yet, the two worlds of our cultural values and the physical space and beings which inhabit it are completely intertwined. They are intersectional. They are undetachable.

That is why we have made the decision to rebrand our podcast. We feel the name “Eyes on Conservation” no longer serves the purpose it once did. We feel that it doesn’t address those issues enough, and instead of simply throwing a #BLM stamp on our Instagram, patting ourselves on the back, and calling it a day, we’ve decided to make social equality and natural conservation - the natural allies that they are - central to our journey forward.

And we want you to take the journey with us. We would like to hear from you what you think about this. What ideas you have for a new name, what concerns or questions you have. Please give us your feedback either through email at [email protected] or by calling our voicemail at 208-917-3786. We will listen and read everything you send us and would love to share your answers on an upcoming episode.

Wild Lens Collective member Sarinah Simons is a freelance filmmaker, activist and intersectional environmentalist currently based in northern California. She works in wildlife management for the state. Sarinah is passionate about telling stories about wildlife and marginalized communities. Her upcoming projects include the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band’s traditional fire practices in California, and A Change in the Clouds, the story of Panama’s indigenous Guna Yala people, jaguar conservation, and the crossroads of climate change.

Website: http://www.sarinahsimons.com/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/_sea_legs/ 

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/change-in-the-clouds-film

Wild Lens Collective member Ben-Alex Dupris, aka @Bendigenous, is an enrolled member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, where he grew up. Over the years he has worked in commercial entertainment, tribal language preservation, youth media training and most recently, documenting front-line environmental activism. 

He is a Concordia Studios Artist-In-Residence Alumni headed by Academy-Award winner Davis Guggenheim, Firelight Impact Producer's Fellow, and a Sundance Institute "Rauschenberg" Producer's Fellow.

His directorial debut, Sweetheart Dancers, was a Grand Jury Winner for best short film at OUTFEST LA, and his upcoming PBS American Masters features Pawnee painter Bunky Echo-Hawk as a part of a series curated by Firelight Media. 

@Bendigenous also teaches “Indigenous Mythology in Film” at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, with upcoming class dates coming up in the 2020-2021 year. 

The work we’re doing is made possible because of people like our patrons on Patreon. Thank you so much to all of you. Please consider becoming a supporter for as little as a buck a show at www.patreon.com/wildlenscollective.

A Message From the Native Filmmakers Fighting the Dakota Pipeline at Standing Rock – Speech by John Trudell “We Are Power”, video short produce by Ben Alex and Heather Rae https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phre0bArD0M

Sweetheart Dancers – Directed and Produced by Ben Alex Dupris

https://www.pbs.org/filmfestival/films/sweetheart-dancers

Extended Interview: Burning a Forest to Revive a People – Valentin Lopez for PBS explaining the significance of fire practices for the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

https://www.pbs.org/video/valentin-lopez-burns-forest-revive-people-hotbmr/

A Change in the Clouds – Directed and Produced by Sarinah Simons

https://www.gofundme.com/f/change-in-the-clouds-film

Sea of Shadows – Co-director, Matthew Podolsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiFjJCUd9ro

Music in today’s show by Blue Dot Sessions via the Free Music Archive under Creative Commons licensing.

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