Movie Monday: Heartbeat of Our Ancestors

Movie Monday is our weekly film series where we share short documentaries created through See Stories programs. These films highlight stories of place, culture, and community from across Alaska, created by students, educators, and community members who are documenting the histories and experiences that shape where they live.

This week’s film, Heartbeat of Our Ancestors, was created by Daniel Greenwood during See Stories’ June 2025 Professional Development Retreat in Willow, Alaska as part of the Anchored Histories Alaska (AHA!) intensive. At this See Stories professional development retreat, educators explored how film can be a powerful tool for sharing culture, history, and place-based knowledge. We are continuing this series by featuring this film featuring interviews of students at the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School in Anchorage, Alaska.

We hear stories of the process of drum-making, how they stretch, shape, and assemble each piece by hand and how drum-making and drumming becomes a connection to identity, ancestry, and community.

Students not only learn how to build drums from scratch, but also how to carry forward traditions that were once at risk of being lost. Through stories of grandparents, songs, and dance, the film highlights how cultural knowledge is passed down across generations, and how young people are reclaiming and celebrating it today.

Heartbeat of the Ancestors reminds us that culture is alive. It lives in our hands, our voices, our memories, and in the rhythms that continue to bring people together.

"I think drums are important for culture because it keeps us alive and moving, keeps our heart beating, and nobody can take that away from us."

🎥 Watch the film, Heartbeat of the Ancestors, and listen to these voices of resilience and renewal, or click on the still below:

Discussion Questions

1. How does learning to make something by hand (like a drum) deepen someone’s connection to culture or community?
2. Why is it important to pass traditions, songs, and stories from one generation to the next?
3. How does music and drumming bring people together in your own experience or community?

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