Ahwahnee was made in response to the erasure of painful indigenous histories in the United States in favor of colonial discourses. I decided to focus on Yosemite because of its proximity to my home and its rising popularity as a tourist destination. I’ve observed countless people flock to popular viewpoints such as Glacier Point (Patillima), read the short descriptions of the colonisers who “discovered” the location, snap a photo of themselves and leave. In my mind, the “conquering” of the scenic viewpoint reflects colonial histories. A tourist will go to the highest point in the park to prove they were there, not acknowledging the fact that native peoples were forced out of their homes for them to afford that privilege. This history has been repeated and silenced over and over in this country, and must be questioned, discussed and dismantled immediately.

This project was completed for FILM 136A, Experimental Film and Video, an upper division critical studies course at University of California, Santa Cruz. Earlier in the quarter, everyone wrote a manifesto. Mine was about bringing film and video to the people, giving voice to suppressed or silenced peoples and questioning the oppressive tendencies of the United States and Hollywood.

I was inspired by animation and pixelation works from Kelly Gallagher along with Adam Khalil’s guest lecture program “Anti-Ethnography.” I used pixelation and animation techniques in Yosemite National Park, CA (Ahwahne) and in Santa Cruz, CA. I used the song “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie and modified lyrics from Folk Archive.

Works Cited
Anderson, Dan, and Madison S. Beeler. "Origin of the Word Yosemite." Discovery of the Yosemite, by Lafayette H. Bunnell. Accessed June 07, 2018. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/ origin_of_word_yosemite.html.
Guthrie, Woody, writer. This Land Is Your Land. Recorded 1951. Union Square Music, MP3.
"Is This Land Your Land? (This Land Is Your Land) (1960s)." The Union Maid (Woody Guthrie/ Millard Lampell). Accessed June 07, 2018. http://www.folkarchive.de/isthis.html#native.
"The Ahwahneechees: A Story of the Yosemite Indians (1966) by John W. Bingaman." Discovery of the Yosemite, by Lafayette H. Bunnell. Accessed June 07, 2018. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/ library/the_ahwahneechees/chapter_1.html.
Spence, Mark. "Dispossesing the Wilderness: Yosemite Indians and the National Park Ideal, 1864-1930." Pacific Historical Review 65, no. 1 (1996): 27-59. doi:10.2307/3640826.
"Yosemite Indians." National Parks Service. Accessed June 07, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/yose/ learn/historyculture/yosemite-indians.htm.