Lighting the Seventh Fire (Sandra Johnson Osawa, U.S., 1994) An Ojibway prophecy indicates that Native Americans are living in the age of the "Seventh Fire"-a time when traditional ways are strengthened. This Native American production profiles the Ojibways of Northern Wisconsin who have continued to reaffirm their traditions to the detriment of their position in the larger American community. At issue: the practice (and politics) of spear-fishing. The Ojibways' hostile white neighbors seize upon the issue to vent their economic stress, revealing that racism is just at the surface of the American stream, and biting. (41 mins, Color, 3/4" Video) Boatman (Gianfranco Rosi, U.S., 1993) This beautifully shot black-and-white film asks, for the Indians living on the Ganges river, what Lighting the Seventh Fire asks for American Indians: who are you to question the value of our beliefs? In Hindu mythology, the Ganges flows from the hair of Shiva, the god of both creation and destruction. Taking an unusual and surprising tour of the Ganges with a local boatman, and talking with people on its banks, this film presents an intimate view of the ironic contrasts between myth and reality, tour guide and boatman, life and death, which surround this most holy river. (57 mins, English subtitles, B!W, 16mm)