The Klabona Keepers is a love letter to the land and a testament to the resilience of the Tahltan people. Overcoming forced displacement and residential school trauma, the Klabona Keepers show what is possible when a small but dedicated group takes a stand.
Watch the Trailer for The Klabona Keepers.
“70 years ago the government moved my people out of this traditional territory. Shortly after my aunt and uncle we’re taken from their parents to be put in residential schools.
The government was taking the children from our land. Now they are trying to take the land from our children.
For the past 15 years the Klabona Keepers have fought hard to prevent coal and gas tenures in our sacred headwaters.
We will not be displaced again. This documentary is the story of our struggle”
— Klabona Keeper Rhoda Quock
— Kateri Cree – Lawyer & Justice Development Technician at Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
We want to provide screenings of this powerful film and all the experiences and wisdom contained within it to other communities facing resource extraction conflict. Please contact us to inquire how we can help you organize a community screening, and whether we can bring the Klabona Keepers to speak with your community.
“Tamo and Jasper are helping make this film but they didn’t originally come here to make a documentary.
We met them at our Sacred Headwaters music festival. We invited them to support a blockade with their cameras and bodies. They thought they were coming for two days. We kept them for 7 weeks and had them taking over drills.
We trust them with this film because they have always taken our leadership. They return every year and have taken on roles working with our youth.”
— Klabona Keeper Rhoda Quock
Directed by filmmakers Tamo Campos and Jasper Snow Rosen and produced by Iskut land defender Rhoda Quock, the film was created over seven years and weaves together 15 years of footage that ranges from tense standoffs with industry and police to intimate moments with Tahltan youth on the land.
The project is a collaboration between non-Indigenous filmmakers and Indigenous elders, who were given ownership of the intellectual property, with all proceeds from the film going towards youth programming at the Klabona Sacred Headwaters.
