Oregon State University – Cascades is hosting an artist talk and film screening Nov. 12 featuring Indigenous artists from Louisiana and Alaska talking about communities in the two states facing displacement due to climate change.
The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Charles McGrath Family Atrium in Edward J. Ray Hall on the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend. The event is free, but registration is requested.
The talk and film screening feature Indigenous artists Chantel Dolphin Lady Comardelle of Isle de Jean Charles and Dennis Davis of Shishmaref. The film is titled “Our Knowledge is Power: The Cultures of Beauty and Survival in Isle de Jean Charles, LA and Shishmaref, AK.”
Comardelle is a photographer, lifelong resident of the Louisiana bayou, and Tribal secretary for the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation.
Davis is a self-taught Inupiat photographer who for two decades has used photography and video to document changes in Alaska’s western coastline. His photography is influenced by the Kigiqtamiut Inupiat’s belief in the connections between land, animals and people.
Both the community of Isle de Jean Charles and of Shishmaref face displacement due to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels. Comardelle and Davis will present stories, photographs and a film that illustrate the contrasts between cultural beauty and the impacts of the climate crisis in their communities.
The Laboratory for the American Conversation at OSU-Cascades is hosting the event. Elizabeth Marino, co-director of the lab and an associate professor of anthropology, is a national leader in advancing the understanding of the impacts of climate change and disasters on historically and socially vulnerable communities. Her research has recorded the impacts of climate change in Shismaref for 17 years.
In addition to the talk and film screening, an exhibit featuring the artists’ photography will be on display in Ray Hall through December.
The event and exhibit were made possible with a grant from the Roundhouse Foundation and support from Scalehouse Collaborative for the Arts and Bennington Properties.
For information and to register for the talk and film screening, and for accommodations for disabiities visit osucascades.edu/lac/events or contact events@osucascades.edu.
CORRECTION, NOV. 2, 2023: The event date and time changed after this release was distributed. It now reflects the new date and time.
About OSU-Cascades: Oregon State University’s campus in Bend brings higher education to Central Oregon, the fastest growing region in the state. Surrounded by mountains, forest and high desert, OSU-Cascades is a highly innovative campus of a top-tier land grant research university, offering small classes that accelerate faculty-student mentoring and experiential learning. Degree programs meet industry and economic needs in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, natural ecosystems, health and wellness, and arts and sciences, and prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges. OSU-Cascades is expanding to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students, building a 128-acre campus with net-zero goals.