The 2024 documentary Bad River follows the history of the Mashkiiziibii (Bad River) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The story travels from pre-colonial times up to the present day, where the band is fighting to remove a crumbling pipeline. Then, the film carries us into the future.

We’ve heard of the ‘Seven Generations’ perspective on decision-making: we should consider the effects of our choices on the next seven generations. For most of us, this is a worthy but rather vague concept. Listening to the Mashkiiziibii People in the documentary brought Seven Generations into sharper focus.

I am standing here, we are all standing here, on the shoulders of our ancestors. We are the result of DNA transmissions going back hundreds of thousands of years. We are the children of every survival choice made by our ancestors over that same time period. We are the embodiment of their dreams brought into the present. We are their future.

And who are the future generations’s ancestors? We are. Whether we physically reproduce or not, future generations will embody the vibrations that we are dreaming into place right now. When we see ourselves as ancestors, when we consider our effect on seven generations, we help ourselves off the track of ego/self-focus and onto the path of spiritual context.

The documentary ends beautifully, with every band member sharing a few words for their future descendants. These words center on stewardship, love, and resilience. The words are spoken directly into the camera, for the people of the future who will be watching the film long after the speakers are gone. Their intentions ring clearly into the future.

We need to ask: What vibrations are we, the ancestors of tomorrow, ringing into the next generations?

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Bad River trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9YboI2KQS4