Gather Movie Showing
Written By: Sarah Lanphear
On Wednesday, March 6, Lycoming College’s Politics of Consumption Symposium Organizing Committee held a screening of “Gather.” The event was held from 6-8 pm in Lycoming’s fine arts building. Tomahawks provided the catering to fit the film’s theme of sustainability and preservation of indigenous cultures. Tomahawks is an Indigenous taco shop in Mifflinburg. Joseph Haber, Tomahawk’s owner, and chef, provided a three sisters soup, venison chili, and cornbread and shared how his love of food led him to a career in providing healthy, locally sourced dishes, explaining that “good food is closer to you when you’re cooking it.” Enjoying this indigenous food while watching the film made it hit closer to home.
“Gather” follows the journeys of three indigenous communities fighting for food sovereignty in their respective regions. First, the film introduces Nephi Craig of the White Mountain Apache Nation, who opens an indigenous restaurant that provides a healthy and culturally appropriate alternative to the processed food many in the region have been forced to eat. The movie then turns to Elsie Dubray, a young scientist of the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation whose work on nutrition and meat analysis makes a case for preserving bison for indigenous use. Finally, the Yurok Nation’s loss of salmon from dams and regulations is highlighted as they fight to remove and restore the essential habitat for their fishing culture to survive. Each story exemplifies how modern food systems have harmed not only indigenous communities but the environment as a whole. The movie concludes with an emphasis on societies’ need to connect indigenous knowledge with Western science and allow different communities access to land and resources that enable the preservation of their unique cultures.
Following the film, panelists were called forward for a more in-depth discussion. Joseph Haber discussed his catering business and elaborated on the importance of purchasing locally sourced foods for sustainability and better health. He obtains most of the ingredients for his company from Lewisburg’s farmer’s market. He looks for “good” grocery stores where produce is obtained locally. Lauren Montgomery and Grecia Leon spoke about their experiences with Thrive International. This organization hosts various events and provides services to promote diversity and equity among people from different cultures in the Williamsport area. They host a monthly “comfort meals” program in which a community member shares a recipe from their home culture to be cooked and shared on a large scale at a low price. Montgomery shared that the idea of this program was to allow the sharers to “go back home” while inviting connections among people from different cultures through the provision of delicious food. Leon added a story in which a woman came to the event because she recognized a dish being provided and ended up meeting someone from her home country that she had never known lived so close. Finally, Zachary Reese, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film and Video Arts at Lycoming College, was available to answer questions about the making of the film.
A raffle at the end of the event allowed several attendees to take home stickers, shirts, and other fantastic items related to the film. Many also took leftovers from the catering, a testament to the delicious food provided. The film suggested that people today are incredibly distant from food production systems and lack connections to the land and to each other; however, events like this serve as a reminder of the value of coming together as a community and bonding over one thing most people share: the love of delicious, home-cooked food.
