The award-winning Vancouver short film ‘Joe Buffalo‘ by filmmaker Amar Chebib is available to watch online, after The New Yorker picked up the distribution rights and shared it on its YouTube channel.

The short film chronicles the journey of Joe Buffalo, great grandson of the great peacemaker Chief Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), residential school survivor and professional skateboarder, and mentor and inspiration, and he shares so beautifully about trauma and hope and healing.

Thinking about the power of skateboarding to be a space for healing and self-expression and community makes me think about the amazing work that the Indigenous Life Sports Academy has been up to, running skate clinics, and other good things. In June, ILSA reported that $10,000 in upgrades had been donated by Arena Snowparks and Lil’wat Health and Healing, and a permanent skatepark is coming in 2022, thanks to the support of New Line Skateparks and our amazing community.