"Creek Story"The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies is pleased to announce the release of “Creek Story” ---a documentary film by Dan Hammill and Sukhi Sanghera. Produced in cooperation with Micromedia, the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University, and through a grant from the Whatcom Community Foundation.
Copies of Creek Story are available for purchase at $20 each ($50 institutional use).
Contact: Elizabeth Joffrion Center for Pacific Northwest Studies Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225-9123
360-650-7747 elizabeth.joffrion@wwu.edu
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“Creek Story” is a comprehensive 30-minute documentary
video exploring the history of Whatcom Creek and the meaning of this historic
natural resource to the Bellingham community. The story of Whatcom Creek doesn’t
begin at its Lake Whatcom headwaters, or end at its estuary with Bellingham Bay.
Like the water that runs through it, Whatcom Creek’s tale flows through the
history of Bellingham. Its four short miles traverse not only sandstone
formations, evergreen forests and an urban center, but also thousands of years
of natural history, indigenous interaction and white settlement and
colonization. “Creek Story” thoughtfully examines the social and cultural
history surrounding the creek, and the impact of economic and industrial
development over the past two centuries. Today, when we think of Whatcom Creek,
we remember the 1999 pipeline explosion. The issues surrounding the explosion
also highlight several recurring themes in the larger history of the Bellingham
community and its utilization of local natural resources. Of particular
interest, are the contrasting and often conflicting visions for the creek, which
range from a cherished recreational resource to a site for economic
development. The film will explore these themes and feature interviews with
notable community members and government officials including Mayor Mark Asmundson, environmental leaders, Lummi elders, and interviews and narration by
WWU faculty. 