October 27, 2022
Today we watch “The Scattering of Man”, a film by the Tsay Keh Dene Nation. The film told the story of the flooding of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation, which was caused by the development of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in B.C. in the 1960s. Since the development was ahead of schedule and the Nation wasn’t warned about these changes, their land was flooded and they had to evacuate. This resulted in deaths, destruction of property, and left the community in shambles. A synopsis can be found here.
This was my first time hearing about this tragedy so I found the film to be a shock. I was appalled that this happened and greatly concerned that the community is still dealing with the ramifications of it 60 years later. it is very telling of the amount of racism that still exists today.
The filmmaker, Luke Gleeson, did an interview with CTV news about the documentary, we were lucky to have a Q&A after the screening. He doesn’t think of this as his film, but rather the Tsay Keh Dene Nation’s film because it is their story and it really does take a community to create something like this. Hearing his passion on this issue was very heartwarming.