“I think so many of our Native people can benefit from the wisdom shared by these elders, but in any case it will always be shared in a safe space,” – Nico Williams
TULSA – A new documentary, “Wellness Wisdom”, produced by Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness, will premiere at the Circle Cinema on Saturday, Aug. 15. The project features 16 Indigenous elders over the age of 70 who represent 12 different Tribes, including the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Euchee Tribe.
The guiding questions the project asked elders were what wellness means to them, and what their memories of taking care of one another were like.
Nico Williams (Cherokee) is the executive director of Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness, a nonprofit Intertribal community center. She serves as a producer on the project. Explaining its purpose, Williams said the idea came from simply talking to elders about their life stories.
“Culture is prevention. Our culture is our way of improving our lifestyles,” Williams said. “We had the opportunity to do this project that we called ‘Wellness Wisdom’, which was to talk to our elders and get their input on how they got to be elders. How did they grow up? What are things they would share with younger generations?”
Okcate Smith McCommas (Mvskoke) is the creative project manager for Summerhead Creative, an Indigenous-owned media company. She serves as the project leader on “Wellness Wisdom.” For McCommas, the subject of elders is one she is very close to. Both of her parents are now elders.
“My dad is 78. My mom will be 84 on September 1. In the past few years I have been caregiving more and getting to the point in my life where I’m very grateful that I still have my parents with me,” McCommas said.
“I am very aware of the fact that a lot of my friends don’t have their parents. I don’t have my grandparents anymore. I am just very aware of the fact that if we want to continue taking their knowledge forward, we have to talk with them, visit with them, and preserve it in some way.”
McCommas said she hopes the project will be shared with the subjects’ descendants in the documentary. Even if they never have the opportunity to meet their grandparents or great-grandparents, they can at least see who they come from.
Both Williams and McCommas noted that as they interviewed more subjects for the project, they found similar elements across the stories. McCommas shared that she even made connections to the elders she interviewed with stories shared by elders in her own life.
“As my husband and I were leaving a shoot we would start to chat and say ‘Wow that elder said something that other elder said.’ That just kept happening. We realized there were commonalities. Even if they may not have known each other beforehand, this generation, this age group has had an interestingly common story,” McCommas said.
The “Wellness Wisdom” screening is open only to Indigenous community members due to the cultural knowledge it shares. Williams explained that none of the interviews will be shared online, and no trailers will be released without the express consent of each elder. This is to ensure their stories are protected.
Williams said there will be more opportunities to see the project in the future at screenings held at Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness. The filmmakers are also looking to host screenings at local Tribal community centers.
Tickets for “Wellness Wisdom” can be purchased here. The event will include an Indigenous market from 1 – 4 p.m. A reception will be held from 5 – 6 p.m. A panel featuring the filmmakers and elders in the project will follow the screening.
