(Photo credit: Tasha Hubbard)
Tasha Hubbard works as an associate professor at the University of Alberta.
Hubbard’s latest film, titled Singing Back the Buffalo, will soon be screened in theaters nationwide.
She said she’s had a strong fascination with buffalo since 2003.
“I was taken by some Elders to a buffalo stone that was found just outside of Regina, and it was this beautiful stone in the shape of a buffalo with a medicine bowl at its nose,” explained Hubbard. “It was such an experience to see something that had been that connector for us as Indigenous people to the spirit of the buffalo, and after I had that visit, I just thought about buffalo all the time.”
At that time Hubbard was already a film marker and knew she wanted to create a film dedicated to the buffalo, but she decided to wait until she had more experience under her belt.
Hubbard met a Blackfoot elder named Narcisse Blood; he was a historian and filmmaker and had a love for the buffalo. The pair decided to work on the film together, but in 2015 Blood tragically passed away in a car crash.
“So, I stopped for a while and started again in 2016 and was just filming the growth of the Buffalo Treaty and other events, and then in the spring of 2020 was like, ‘Okay, I’m ready’ and started putting together the financing, support, the crew, and the research to start the film,” said Hubbard.
A clip from Singing Back the Buffalo can be found below.
Hubbard wanted to focus on the importance of the buffalo to Indigenous people, the grasslands environment, and ecosystems. The film also explains the consequences of the buffalo being brought to near extinction due to many factors, with the most prominent being over-hunting in the 1800’s.
“There are so many other animals, plants, and insects that directly benefit from the buffalo. The way they graze, the way that their coats catch seeds and transport seeds across the land, they are what makes things new again; they renew the land every year,” explained Hubbard.
Singing Back the Buffalo was written and directed by Hubbard and produced by Hubbard, Jason Ryle, and George Hupka; associate produced by Marie-Eve Marchand; and executive produced by Bonnie Thompson.
“We’re really happy that it’s coming into theaters this coming week; we asked the distributor to go beyond the big cities and seek out theaters in smaller centres, so we’re in North Battleford, Fort Qu’Appelle, and Yorkton, and we’re really excited about that, and Regina and Saskatoon,” said Hubbard.
Singing Back the Buffalo will be in theaters across Canada starting September 13. To find a theater near you, visit the link below.