Deidre Whiteman
Deidre Whiteman will deliver the first keynote talk.
Deidre Whiteman is the Director of Research and Education at National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS). In this role she educates and promotes dialogue within and between indigenous and immigrant communities. Her career has included many talks on various impacts of settler-colonialism, most notably Native American boarding schools, which her grandparents attended in the 1920s and 1930s. Deidre Whiteman is Spirit Lake Dakota and Hidatsa and is also a descendant of the Meskwaki and Turtle Mt. Ojibwe Nations.
As we work towards greater understanding of Norwegian-American history, including the interactions between and shared histories of Indigenous Americans and Norwegian immigrants and their descendants, her voice is a valuable addition to our conference.
Following this keynote, researcher Dr. Anna Peterson will hold a plenary session highlighting three specific cases of Norwegian American/Native American interactions: Norwegians and the US-Dakota War of 1862, Norwegians on the Spirit Lake Reservation, and the Norwegian-American run Bethany Indian Mission. A special food truck lunch that day will also feature local native vendors.
Hisham Zaman
Norwegian filmmaker Hisham Zaman
Hisham Zaman, acclaimed Norwegian director, screenwriter, and producer of Kurdish descent, will be delivering a keynote presentation at the upcoming “Crossings and Connections” conference. Drawing from his own life experiences, Zaman’s films explore universal themes of migration and refuge.
As part of his presentation, we’ll be screening his poignant debut feature film, Vinterland [Winter land] (2007). Plus, a post-conference film festival will feature a selection of Zaman’s other migration and refugee-themed works, giving viewers an even deeper sense of his cinematic range.
Zaman’s journey to becoming a filmmaker is as remarkable as his films. Born in Iraq in 1975, his family was forced to seek refuge in Iran and Turkey before finally finding asylum in Norway when he was 17. Despite initial disapproval from his father, Zaman developed a passion for cinema. With his mother’s support, he secretly indulged his interest in film, all while working as a car mechanic to support his family. This dedication led him to amateur cinema clubs and, finally, to the Norwegian Film School at Lillehammer in 2001, where he later taught.
Since graduating in 2004, Zaman’s films have garnered international acclaim. His filmography includes a variety of short films, most notably Bawke [Father] (2005), which won over 50 international awards and was named Norway’s best short film of the decade. His feature-length films include Før Snøen Faller [Before the Snow Falls] (2013), Brev til kongen [Letter to the King] (2014), and his most recent release, A Happy Day (2023).