We Are The Warriors, a film about challenging the harmful use of Native Americans as mascots, is the newest production by Joanna Weaver '16 and David Camlin ’07, among others.
COA alumnx David Camlin ’07 and Joanna Weaver ’16 are among the team behing a documentary film about the process a small Maine high school went through to change their Native American mascot.
David Camlin ’07 is codirector and producer of We Are The Warriors, a film on the process a small Maine high school went through to change their Native American mascot.We Are The Warriors reveals how difficult conversations about identity and history are key to addressing Native American mascots. The documentary follows residents of Wells, Maine, as they take on this polarizing issue after facing public allegations that Warriors football fans mocked Indigenous culture. The school district investigates the incident and forms a Mascot Advisory Committee to hear Wabanaki perspectives and consider the fate of their beloved mascot.
Camlin, a Portland, ME-based filmmaker is codirecting and producingwith fellow Wells High School graduate Megan Grumbling. Weaver is coproducer and assistant editor. Sophie Joyce ’22 recorded some of the interviews. Other members of the film production team include associate producer Sierra Henries (Nipmuck) and musical supervisor/post-production consultant Mali Obomsawin (Odanak Abenaki). Henries, Obomsawin, and Weaver are all members of the Sunlight Media Collective, a Wabanaki-centric news organization.
Joanna Weaver '16 is coproducer and assistant editor on We Are The Warriors, a new film on the process a small Maine high school went through to change their Native American mascot.The filmmakers gathered interviews and insights from residents of Wells and Wabanaki people from what is now Maine, Québec, and the Canadian Maritimes. Revelations about the town’s brutal colonial history and difficult conversations about the actual impact of the intended honor were key to changing the hearts and minds of Wells committee members. The film highlights evolving opinions of residents with a secondary focus on the history of the region, and after months of consideration, the committee votes to recommend retiring the Native imagery to the school board and the policy is adopted.
We Are The Warriors is nearly ready for consideration by PBS stations across the country, and registration information for free online screenings of a work-in-progress edit can be found on the film’s website,WeAreTheWarriorsFilm.com. More information and the film’s trailer can be found on there, as well.
