The Film People and Wolves, a story of coexistence in final cut!

For centuries, the Ojibwe have lived alongside their brother Ma’iingan, who we know in English to be the wolf. In February 2021, a Brutal assault, a hunt on their wolf relative, stirs emotion and grief for Ma’iingan as they know what happens to him will happen to them.

Cast

A Story of Coexistence. The cast members are Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace.

Marvin DeFoe is an Ojibwe Elder and co-author of the Red Cliff Ma’iingan Protection Plan.

Peter David is a retired Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission Wolf Biologist.

Edith Leoso is a Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. (ret.).

MichaelWaasegiizhig Price is the traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and is one of the film’s co-producers.

Patrick Durkin is an award-winning outdoor writer.

John Johnson Sr. is the Tribal Chairman of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

Sandy Gokee is an Enrolled Member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

And the wolves themselves, thanks to videos graciously provided by Voyageurs Wolf Project!

A Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin Film by Rachel Tilseth

Produced and Directed by Rachel Tilseth, Edited by Justin Koehler

Co-Producer: Manish Bhatt

Writer Rachel Tilseth, Cameraman Tyler Grape

Poster Designer Ned Gannon
The song “I Don’t Know Why.”
Words & Music by Joe De Benedetti & Noah Hill

https://vimeo.com/896277057

MEET THE PEOPLE

Edith Leoso is a Bad River Tribal member, retired from working as the Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the past 18 years. She is a discussant and presenter on a local, regional, national, and international level on a variety of issues related to Bad River Tribal History, inherent practices (culture), Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Tribal perspectives of climate change, Tribal Historic Preservation, historical trauma, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). She is also a published co-author of Waking from Paralysis: Revitalizing Conceptions of Climate Knowledge and Justice for More Effective Climate Action; Marion Suiseeya KR, O’Connell MG, Leoso E, et al. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2022; 700(1):166-182. Also, in the process of being published as co-author for Ganawendan Ginibiminaan: Mobilizing with the Bad River Ojibwe Community for Watersheds-At-Risk; Conaway D, Leoso E. Ecology and Society; 2023.

Marvin DeFoe

Marvin DeFoe is a contributing author of the Ma’iingan Relationship Plan and a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He is an educator, teacher, birch bark canoe builder, and Red Cliff elder. He grew up in the Red Cliff community and is part of the Sturgeon clan. He is named Shingway Banase in Anishinaabe and is passionate about maintaining and revitalizing the Ojibwe language. Marvin is the past Vice Chair of the tribal council and has been the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for four years.

Peter David

Peter David is a retired wildlife biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, where he assists GLIFWC’s member tribes in implementing their off-reservation, treaty-reserved rights. He received his education (bachelor’s and master’s in Wildlife Ecology) from UW-Madison and from the tribal elders and members for whom he has worked for the last 35 years. At the Commission, he has had the opportunity to steward resources as varied as wild rice and wolves.

Patrick Durkin of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is an award-winning outdoor writer, newspaper columnist, and general outdoors reporter. He has been MeatEater’s wildlife research contributor since June 2018 and frequently writes for national archery and hunting magazines. Durkin also provides editing services for books and magazines and was a contributing editor/writer for the Archery Trade Association from September 2001 through January 2021.

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace.

When Jane Goodall entered the forest of Gombe, the world knew very little about chimpanzees and even less about their unique genetic kinship to humans. She took an unorthodox approach in her field research, immersing herself in their habitat and their lives to experience their complex society as a neighbor rather than a distant observer and coming to understand them not only as a species but also as individuals with emotions and long-term bonds. Dr. Jane Goodall’s discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees make and use tools is considered one of the greatest achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. Her field research at Gombe transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and redefined the relationship between humans and animals in ways that continue to emanate around the world.

Michael Waasegiizhig Price  is the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in Odanah, WI. He is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of Wikwemikong First Nations, Canada. His role as TEK Specialist involves integrating Anishinaabe language, cultural perspectives, and ceremony into research methods and resource management to make science more culturally relevant. Michael received his Master of Science in Forestry from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He also received his Certificate of Ojibwe Language Instruction from Bemidji State University.

Sandy Gokee, an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

John Johnson Sr. is the Chairman of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.