‘…Science Fiction Films by Native American Filmmakers’ topic of ISU presentation April 19

A lunchtime colloquium titled "Indigenous Futurism: Science Fiction Films by Native American Filmmakers" will be presented by Professor Grace Dillon of Portland State University from noon to 1 p.m. April 19 in Room 213 of the Idaho State University Rendezvous Complex.

The free public event is sponsored by ISU Departments of Anthropology, the Department of English and Philosophy, and the Cultural Events Committee of the College of Arts and Letters.

A member of the Anishinaabe tribe and a professor of Native American Studies, Dillon has combined her interests in science fiction and traditional cultures to create the field of indigenous futurism. This field overturns the idea of the vanishing Indian and replaces it with the possibility of alternative futures created by and including indigenous people from all around the world.

Drawing upon her own scholarly work, including her recent book "Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction," Dillon will show a number of short films and discuss the ways they blend myth and technological speculation to create a new kind of science fiction and an imaginative space for non-Western ways of seeing and interacting with the physical universe. 

Dillon will also visit two classes to which visitors are welcome:  ENGL4453, "American Indian Literature," on Thursday, April 18, beginning 7 p.m. in Rendezvous Complex Room 104, her presentation will focus on native oral storytelling and film adaptation; and in ENGL3327, "Science Fiction Literature and Film," on Friday, April 19, 11-11:50 a.m. in Rendezvous Complex Room 111, her presentation will focus on indigenous futures around the world.

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