Campus Connection

Student documentary encourages community to think about Native American imagery

When Ashley Kalbus came to UWL, she never anticipated making a documentary that has the potential to spark community change. Now the recent graduate can add that to her resume. Kalbus, along with fellow students Kalon Bell, Kayla Beckemeyer and Cody Heiar, produced “Patterns,” a 24-minute documentary about Native American Imagery, particularly in La Crosse. The film incorporates interviews from members of several Native American tribes who share their viewpoints and experiences growing up. “It’s almost always more interesting to learn from a person’s perspective than books,” she says. The project is part of the Ethnic and Racial Studies (ERS) capstone course. ERS is offered as a minor at UWL. “Their majors gives them skills while ERS provides richness and depth,” says department chair Tim Gongaware. The one instruction Gongaware gave students for the project was to go beyond talking about the issues to create something educational that makes or inspires change. “Patterns” was first shown at the end of the fall semester to about 80 members of the community. Kalbus wants it to have a broader reach, especially in local school districts. “We want people to use and see this film,” says Kalbus. “We especially want young people to see and talk about the message.” More recently, Chancellor Joe Gow shared an email link to the video with campus: “We all can be very proud of this video because it represents so well what we are here to do; namely, to share information and perspectives, ask questions, and promote positive change. I hope you'll take a moment to watch it. I guarantee it will make you think more completely about the meaning and impact of imagery that many people sometimes, unfortunately, take for granted,” wrote Gow. Kalbus and the group hope the video will inspire change in our society, no matter how small. “Nobody should feel hurt or feel unsafe from seeing an image or hearing certain words,” she says. “Even if just one person starts making simple changes, such as referring to others with respect and not being so judgmental, that would be a big success.”