Celebrating Black Indigenous Feminine Consciousness

Celebrating Black Indigenous Feminine Consciousness

Distinguished filmmaker, mixed-media artist and founder of boutique production company, Atchafalaya Fox Ms Jeri Hilt, presented an interactive session on Black indigenous feminine consciousness at UKZN’s School of Education.

Hilt’s work reflects regional narratives from Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, emphasising the stories of Black native women and communities in the South. Through film and photography, she fosters a deeper connection with nature and ecological systems.

Her presentation detailed different family and community relationships that foster connectivity. Noting that, ‘intimacy begins with a strong bond, deep trust and intertwined destinies,’ she cited Sonya Sanchez’s injunction to “teach your children to breathe and be seditious”. She said that seduction and sedition in the Black native identity include mutable dynamics of sovereignty, self-determination and vulnerability as a socio-economic political strategy. ‘Beauty can be used as an aesthetic communal identity standard, coping mechanism and healing modality.’

Hilt observed that indigenous spiritual and cultural practices foster inclusivity, continuity, and survival and act as a liberatory mechanism.

Amongst other aspects of the Black native identity, such as love, ecology, the spiritual world and medicine-making, she noted that ‘dreams can be regarded as warnings, visions, ancestral connections and they may have different meanings and interpretations.

‘This Black indigenous belief and praxis has shaped the trajectory of my life and my work. It is the reason I came to South Africa at a time such as this with both seeds and offerings,’ added Hilt. She expressed her gratitude to Community Engagement Leader in the School of Education, Professor Angela James, who arranged for her to reach out to students across different fields of study.

‘Every group of students that I connected with were unique. Being able to share my academic research and visual art with the UKZN community has been invaluable for my current work, and my ongoing initiatives,’ said Hilt. 

Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela

Photographs: Supplied