Lewis and Clark Documentary to be Screened at WSU Vancouver

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver will hold a free public screening of a new history documentary, “Sovereign to Sovereign: Northwest Indian Nations and Lewis and Clark,” Monday, Oct. 24.

The film will be shown at noon in Room 6 of the Multimedia Classroom Building.

Jackie Peterson, a WSU Vancouver professor of history and Native American studies, is the writer, producer and co-director of the 26-minute film. Using animation, maps, historic still photographs, interviews, landscape and live action footage, the documentary describes the social and political significance of Lewis and Clark to American Indian cultures, such as the Nez Perce, Wanapum and Yakama.

Peterson has been a faculty member at WSU since 1983 and has taught at the Vancouver campus for the last 12 years. Her previous work about Northwest tribes includes a major exhibition titled “Sacred Encounters: Father DeSmet and the Indians of the Rocky Mountain West” and several videos, an audio loop and an exhibit about the Coeur d’Alene Tribe of northern Idaho and the Bitteroot Salish of Montana. She has also written extensively on the tribes of the Great Lakes and the Metis.

“Sovereign to Sovereign” was made possible through a grant by the National Park Service and additional support from the Washington State Historical Society, WSU Vancouver and the Oregon Historical Society. The Center for Columbia River History is a sponsor of the event.

WSU Vancouver offers 15 bachelor’s and nine master’s degrees in more than 35 fields of study. The campus is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205. Parking rules are enforced Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Parking is available at parking meters or in the blue lot for $2.