BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Department of Asian Studies//NONSGML Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://asia.ubc.ca/events/event/ X-WR-CALDESC:Department of Asian Studies - Events BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20230318T0558Z-1679119138.209-EO-58988-18@10.19.146.1 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTAMP:20260907T024305Z CREATED:20230317T192559Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230321T224156Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230331T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230331T180000 SUMMARY: Connecting Past\, Present and Future: Ainu Documentary\, Language and Culture DESCRIPTION: This multilingual event will invite a group of four speakers t o share their experiences and activities of Ainu language and culture revit alization. The panel consists of Naomi MIZOGUCHI\, Film Director of Ainu | ひと (2019) (“Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan”)\, who will talk about why a nd how she made this documentary\, including her friendship […] X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

This multilingual event will invite a group of four speakers to share their experiences and activities of Ainu language and culture revital ization. The panel consists of Naomi MIZOGUCHI\, Film Director of Ainu | ひと (2019) (“Ainu - Indigenous People of Japan”)\, who will talk about why and how she made this documentary\, including her friendship with the Ainu cou ple who invited her to stay home\; Ainu language instructors Kenji SEKINE a nd Rino KIMURA will talk about their Ainu language revival activities in Ni butani\, Hokkaido\, a community with the highest Ainu population\; and Maya SEKINE will discuss her activities of promoting Ainu culture based in the Tokyo capital area.

Attendees are encouraged to watch Naomi Mizoguchi ’s film “Ainu | ひと” (2019) before joining the event. The film is available through UBC Library for UBC member with a CWL:

https://webcat.library. ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=12411127).

Date and Time:

Friday\, March 31\, 2023 | 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM (PT) / Saturday\, April 1\, 2023 | 8:30 am - 10:00 am (JPN)

Location: Online via Zoom

The event will be conduc ted in Ainu\, Japanese and English.

[buttons][button link_text="Regis ter for the event" link_url="https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AtdOmrr T4oGtEw16DXJdPopfqQO8EHuwqG"][/buttons]

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Film synopsis: Ainu | ひと (2019) (“Ainu - Indigenous People of Japan”)

< p>The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Japan. Hokkaido\, the northern isla nd of Japan\, was previously called Ainumosir\, or land of the Ainu. The Ai nu tradition has been disappearing seriously: the latest survey shows the p opulation of the Ainu is less than 20\,000 people in Hokkaido\, and UNESCO has recognized the language as ‘critically endangered.’ This film is captur ed in Biratori town in Hokkaido\, where many people with Ainu roots still l ive. It is also known as the hometown of the late Shigeru Kayano\, who cont ributed greatly to the field of research on Ainu culture. Since 1869\, as a result of the new Meiji government’s categorizing the Ainu people as ‘comm oners’ in family registries\, implementing assimilation policies\, and deve loping their land\, the Ainu culture has quickly declined. After 150 years\ , modern-day Ainu live joyfully in this town with Ainu’s traditional cultur e while adapting it to their current lifestyle. The main characters in this documentary are four Ainu elders\, who were born in the 1930s. One who has experienced discrimination and poverty\, another who makes traditional Ain u dress\, one who remembers oral folklore told by her grandmother\, and ano ther who has observed traditional rituals\, such as the bear sacrifice cere mony. They remember their parents and grandparents spoke in Ainu but they w eren’t actually taught the language as parents believed that children will have a better life if they live as ‘Japanese.’ After many decades passed\, they have tried to educate themselves and be proactive as local leaders. Th is documentary tells how Ainu cultural tradition is alive now through peopl e’s efforts.

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Panelists

Naomi MIZOGUCHI\, born in Hyogo Prefecture\, worked at a film pr oduction company in Japan before becoming a freelance filmmaker in 1995 and moving to New York in 2004 to study community media. In 2008\, she co-esta blished the non-profit-organization Cineminga\, shooting a number of films with the active cooperation of Indigenous peoples in South America and Asia . She then founded her own film production company GARA FILMS in 2014. AINU – INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF JAPAN (2019 / NC ’20) is her first feature-length D ocumentary.

Kenji SEKINE works as one of the few Ain u language teachers in Japan. He teaches classes in schools and for childre n in Nibutani which is the largest Ainu community. He has been teaching the Ainu language for approximately 15 years and hosting conversation sessions in Ainu online and in person.

Rino KIMURA was born in Nibutani\, Biratori Town\, Hokkaido. She graduated from Sapporo Universi ty where she learned about the Ainu language and culture. She is currently engaged in promoting Ainu cultural revitalization through forming a musical group called "Ankeshi\,' whose main activity is to introduce traditional A inu songs.

Maya SEKINE was born in Nibutani\, Birato ri Town\, Hokkaido\, she has been announcing in Ainu on the Donan Bus since April 2018\, and she was a personality on Hokkaido STV Radio for the Ainu Language Radio Lecture. Currently\, she is active in communicating about Ai nu culture and the Ainu language by appearing on the YouTube channels calle d Shito Channel and Upopoy Radio.

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