“Return to Foretop’s Father” Film to Screen at Heart Mountain Interpretive Center
May 24, 2019
Heart Mountain Interpretive Center will host a community screening of Cactus Productions’ new documentary film, “Return to Foretop’s Father” on Saturday, June 8. The event will begin with a short reception and hors d’oeuvres at 5 p.m. The screening of the film, which tells the story of Apsaalooké tribal elder Grant Bulltail, will follow at 5:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Foretop’s Father is the traditional Apsaalooké name for Heart Mountain. “Return to Foretop’s Father” follows Bulltail on his quest to reclaim a powerful energy that was lost to the Apsaalooké (Crow) Tribe when the United States government removed them to a reservation in the nineteenth century. Through storytelling, educational seminars, and an annual pipe ceremony that takes place on Heart Mountain, Bulltail works to inform the public that there is change we can all make to restore our connection to the Earth’s transformative power and to help us deal with the effects of climate change and technological dissonance in society.
Additional events are planned on and around Heart Mountain throughout the weekend, including a dinner and seminar on Friday, June 7 and a Pipe Ceremony and ethnobotany hike up Heart Mountain on Saturday, June 8. Prospective attendees are encouraged to visit the “Return to Foretop’s Father” Facebook page for more information about these events.
Dakota Russell, executive director of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, says that the Foundation is honored to be hosting the film. “The Japanese Americans incarcerated at Heart Mountain have always felt a certain kinship with the Crow Tribe,” Russell says. “The mountain is a sacred place to both groups, and both want to ensure the stories of their people remain written on this land.”
Photo is of Grant Bulltail, by Mary Keller.