A new documentary short film, “Place Where I Belong,” tells the story of Wakara Scott, a Humboldt County woman, and former foster youth, who was positively impacted by the Indian Child Welfare Act. June marked the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act, enacted in 1978 to “protect the best interests of tribal children (in the child welfare system) by prioritizing their placement within tribal communities.” To help mark the anniversary, the California Tribal Families Coalition ( https://www.
caltribalfamilies.org ) recently collaborated with Christopher Nataanii Cegielski, a Los Angeles-based director, writer and member of the Navajo Nation, and others to create “Place Where I Belong.” Some of Cegielski’s other works include “Bloodlines,” “Wings of America: Be Known” and “Fight Before the Fight.
” “Tré Borden/Co (an art and media production company in Los Angeles) and I were connected through the amazing Native women-led organization, IllumiNative. The intention was to make a film for the CTFC and their advocacy work for ICWA. I was immediately on board and we started to develop what this film could actually be and what kind of story we wanted to tell,” said Cegielski, who was first introduced to Scott during the outreach process of the film project.
“Through our conversations, I quickly found myself connecting with her as a person and feeling a need to share her story,” Cegielski said. “I felt honor.
