By ROBIN CAUDELL
WEST DANVILLE, Vt. — When independent filmmaker Caro Thompson learned of the 2009 quadricentennial commemorating Samuel de Champlain's journey to this region, she saw it as an opportunity to tell a multicultural story.
"The Lake Champlain region is the traditional homeland of the Mohawk and Abenaki people and often the Native perspective in history is pretty well ignored," said Thompson, who lives in West Danville, Vt.
"It's very important to me that history be inclusive. That's the only way to really understand the story. We often hear about battles and about powerful men. We rarely hear about the everyday people who do the lion's share of whatever work is involved in historical events."
SHIFTING ALLIANCES
Thompson's documentary, "Champlain: The Lake Between," tells "little-known stories about the lake's critical role in the struggle for economic and military dominance during the early years of the United States and Canada. Trade alliances created both conflict and connections among Abenaki, Mohawk, French, English and Dutch people," according to a release.
For her project, Thompson received a $250,000 Partnership for a Nation of Learners grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The film was part of an undertaking that included an archaeological dig at the Daughters of the American Revolution State Park in Addison County, Vt., and forthcoming teacher workshops, Web site creation and publication.
For the film, she interviewed Native, Canadian and American experts, scholars and cultural bearers, such as Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau of Plattsburgh State, Darren Bonaparte of Akwesasne, Marge Bruchac of the University of Connecticut at Avery Point and Colin Calloway of Dartmouth College.
"Champlain: The Lake Between" begins with a dramatization of an archetypal Abenaki family in Vermont.
"In terms of the Champlain Valley, we're talking about a period when the Abenaki homeland is intact, the Mohawk hunting territory is intact, and the French have a few settlements around the lake. There's a lot of trading going on," Thompson said.
She approached the film with the intention of being respectful of all cultures involved and the shifting native alliances with the French, English and Dutch.
"Part of the overall project goal was to inspire people in the region to learn more about their own towns, history and heritage. Through the film, I'm hoping people will realize that our history as Americans and Canadians doesn't exist without an integration of the history of the people who taught the first immigrants from Europe that worked with them on a peaceful level for trade. It's a much more fascinating history when it is integrated. We can't change what happened. We can, at least, respect the full participation and the full story."
MULTI-CULTURAL
One of her primary challenges was going into Native American communities to tell the different nations she was going to make a movie about their history.
"There have been a lot of really bad films and media productions about that history. So I really felt I was embarking on a journey of diplomacy and alliance, myself."
She built upon a decade-old relationship with Abenakis as well as Mohawk father and son John and David Fadden of the Six Nations Indian Museum in Onchiota.
"I started by talking to them and learning more from them and asking them about people I could learn from."
On the New York side of the lake, one path led to Darren Bonaparte, a Mohawk historian, writer and artist from Akwesasne.
"Because of his knowledge, he pulled together some people willing to work with me in re-enactments. We went to an archaeological site, St.-Anicet, a half-hour from Akwesasne. They have reconstructions of longhouses on that site. There were Native speakers in the group, so I was able to script on the spot. Viewers can hear Mohawk being spoken, with subtitles. Marge Bruchac used Abenaki words and phrases. We have French in there. It's very exciting for me to experience the multiculturalism that's right here."
Bruchac led Thompson to Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau, a Canadian specialist in the history department at Plattsburgh State. The daughter of French-Canadian parents, Beaudreau was born and raised in the United States.
"Sylvie added this wonderful element. She's a historian. She's a combination of this story, as is Professor Andre Senecal of the University of Vermont."
THE FRENCH ELEMENT
Thompson never wanted to use the past tense of verbs in any way.
"That indicated that the Native people were gone. They are still here. This landscape is still the traditional homeland and still populated with people from those heritages. Somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of people who live in Vermont have French-Canadian heritage, which is also a part of the heritage of this region that is often left out the history books. I had never heard of New France."
The process of making this film was an amazing personal journey for Thompson.
"I had to listen. I wanted to listen very carefully, and I was learning about a way of knowing, a way of keeping one's self-history and culture alive that is not my way. It's a different culture. Then, of course, there's the French element. I took a year of French a long time ago."
She had to forget what she learned in school because it was not necessarily accurate. The Iroquois call themselves Haudenosaunee, and that's what she used. The same with the Quebecois.
For Thompson, "Champlain: The Lake Between" was one of her most satisfying films. At an October premiere in Vermont, she was thanked and acknowledged by attendees.
"I had reached my goal," she said. "They felt, for the first time, their story had been told. It's a historical documentary, but it absolutely resonates with contemporary realities."
E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
