"Wilfred Buck" - a hybrid Documentary Film
August 20
5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET - virtual live streaming event
96 min running time, plus a conversation with Guests Wilfred Buck and Daniella Scalice
Free and Open to the Public
Join the ASP for a special film showing and discussion honoring Cree Elder & Indigenous Astronomer Wilfred Buck in conversation with Daniella Scalice, Communications and Engagement Lead for the NASA Astrobiology Program
About the film:
Seamlessly moving between earth and stars, past and present, Wilfred Buck is a hybrid feature documentary that looks at one man’s life to tell a story that spans generations. Our guide is the charismatic and irreverent Wilfred Buck, a Cree Elder, astronomer, and ceremonial leader who came to his calling through a harrowing history of displacement, racism, and addiction in 1960s Canada. Adapted from his memoir, and blending verité, archive and stylized re-enactments, the film charts colonization’s attempts to extinguish Indigenous ways of knowing – and what it means to reconnect with and regain ancient teachings that are as relevant today as ever.
Please note: This film is suitable for a broad audience. It contains mature subject matter, including references to colonial history and the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples. Viewer discretion is advised, particularly for younger audiences.
Guest, Wilfred Buck
Wilfred Buck is a Winnipeg-based Ininew (Cree) Indigenous astronomer and ceremonial leader. With two degrees in Education from the University of Manitoba, Buck has dedicated 25 years to teaching students ranging from kindergarten to university level. During his time as a Science Facilitator at the Manitoba Indigenous Education Resource Centre for 15 years, he conducted extensive research on Ininew Acakosuk (Cree stars/constellations). As an author, he has published three books: TIPISKAWI KISIK: Night Sky Stories (Ininiw Acakosuk), I HAVE LIVED FOUR LIVES (a semi-autobiography), and KITCIKISIK: The Great Sky (Ininiw Acakosuk).
Wilfred engages audiences through captivating planetarium presentations and enlightening lectures on Indigenous astronomy and worldview. His portable planetarium allows him to bring the wonders of the cosmos to many First Nation communities. With each connection of prior knowledge and new perspectives, Wilfred continues to uncover fresh insights, making his research on Ininiw Acakosuk an ongoing learning process.
In recognition of his contributions, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 611326 Wilfredbuck in his honour in June 2025.
Moderator, Daniella Scalice
Daniella Scalice is the Communications and Engagement Lead for the NASA Astrobiology Program. Ms. Scalice holds a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Cruz, and worked in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School researching nervous system development. After pursuing an MFA in film production at Humboldt State University, in 2001 she joined the team at the NASA Astrobiology Program.
In 2005 she and her Diné colleagues co-founded the NASA and the Navajo Nation Partnership, an ongoing collaboration that has produced classroom materials, teacher trainings, and student summer camps which weave together Western and Navajo scientific knowledge. This collaboration gave rise to many others with Indigenous communities across the US and in Canada. Ms. Scalice leads the ‘Relationships with Indigenous Communities’ Working Group at NASA which brings together professionals working at the interface of Western and Indigenous science and education.
Over her 25-year career at NASA, Ms. Scalice led the Astrobiology for the Incarcerated program, bringing NASA science programs to learners in prisons, jails, and juvenile justice facilities. She also led FameLab, a science communication training program for early career scientists, and co-developed an Impact Assessment Method that facilitates the assessment of participant impact of educational programs.
Ms. Scalice currently lives and works on the lands of the Piscataway people in the occupied territories known today as Annapolis, Maryland, and co-stewards a farm in Northern New Mexico where she hopes to one day make her home and serve the Indigenous communities who’ve been there since time immemorial.
Photo Credit: Emily Cooper
Filmmaker, Lisa Jackson - in her own words*
My Anishinaabe mother passed away at age 53 when I was just 19 years old, after a difficult life marked by many of the traumas that Wilfred also experienced. She was torn from her community and family at age 5, taken to residential school, and never had a chance to reconnect with her community or culture. She was deeply humane and artistic, with a sharp wit and intelligence. My life in many ways is dedicated to expressing and accomplishing what she never could.
My father was born in 1917 of mixed settler European heritage, a mechanical engineer by trade and a MENSA member whose hero was Einstein. A voracious reader, his curiosity about the world was his defining quality. He always carried a mechanical pencil and index cards in his shirt pocket, ready to record data, do some calculations, jot down a theory.
From the beginning, my work has been recognized for its innovation, tackling unusual, challenging or complex subjects through creative use of form to reach broad audiences. I’ve worked in documentary, fiction, animation, IMAX, virtual reality and installation. Another way of putting it is that I’m not one for staying in a lane. I follow my curiosity and artistic muse, as well as my sense of what will resonate at this time, choosing the best approach for each project.
It may sound grandiose, but I feel this is a life work. This story called me to weave together dramatic reenactments and verité documentary with archival footage and poetic abstract scenes. I believe the way they sit together allows for something special: a film that can touch our hearts, our heads and our spirits.
Our Indigenous cultures value humility, community, Elders, listening and relationship to each other and the animate world around us, all the way to the stars. These quiet yet powerful teachings have a lot to offer a mainstream culture that values youth, confidence, volume, the individual, the self-made. Science is fueled by our curiosity to understand the world around us, to unpack the unknown a bit more. Wilfred also has this curiosity and fascination—he is a geek, an Elder, a teacher and sometimes a trickster. He is deeply committed to knowledge, the next generation and honouring his ancestors. And I committed to translating this to film.
*Due to a film making scheduling conflict, Lisa Jackson will not be able to join in the discussion. However, we felt wanted to share her words about this film making experience.
