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Sacred Waters: Anishinaabeg Naagdawenmaanaanig Giigoonhkewin (The First People Taking Care of the Fishery)

The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians is the largest indigenous tribe east of the Mississippi and has been stewarding the fisheries of their Great Lakes territory for generations. This project explores the cultural and economic importance of the fishery to the tribe and how they’re working to ensure a healthy fishery for the next seven generations in the face of climate change and invasive species.

  • Finn Ryan
    Director
  • Aaron Peterson
    Director
  • Josh Hovey
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Outdoors, Environment, Culture, Great Lakes, Native American
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Fresh Coast Film Festival
    Marquette
    United States
    October 16, 2024
    North American Premiere
  • Thunder Bay International Film Festival
    Alpena, Michigan
    January 25, 2025
  • Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival
    Manistee, Michigan
    March 22, 2025
Director Biography - Finn Ryan, Aaron Peterson

Finn Ryan is a film director and media producer whose work focuses on stories of empowerment and revitalization around community, conservation, and the outdoors. He produced media with Grassland 2.0, a project to support managed grazing in agriculture. He recently directed Ogichidaa Storytellers, a series of short films featuring Lake Superior Ojibwe treaty rights. Previously, Finn directed We Are Healers, a video project to inspire Native youth to become health professionals, and The Ways, a series on contemporary language and culture from Native communities around the central Great Lakes. He also produced and directed the Emmy Award winning Climate Wisconsin, a collection of multimedia stories and interactive data exploring local climate change impacts. Finn worked as a high school special education teacher and co-founded an outdoor education program. He has a degree in special education and English, and a master’s in curriculum and instruction focusing on culturally relevant pedagogy, all from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

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