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By Jonny Cournoyer
I spent this Thanksgiving in a cold cabin in the Redwoods of Northern California. Sitting around the fire I tried digesting, along with the stuffing, how our little film Across the Creek would soon be screening in Washington at the White House. It still didn't sink in, even when two days later my brother David (also a producer) and I were standing outside the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue on the eve of the event. We were both excited and dumbfounded.
The following night, Nov. 30, we and friend Irene Bedard, who flew "Across the Country" to join and support us, walked through those gates. We were met by a member of the staff holding a poster of our film and greeting us with a "Welcome to The White House." Still hadn't sunk in.
The event was hosted by PBS as a kickoff for their new "Public Square" series, and at the reception we met many of those who were behind its creation. Walking to the screening at the Auditorium of The Eisenhower Building we did a little strolling and found the Indian Treaty Room.
Watching the film was personally heavy for me, since five of the Elder subjects we interviewed for the film have since passed away; they never saw the finished film. Particularly emotional was seeing Albert White Hat first appear on the screen and hearing his voice resonate in that venue.
One of the final shots in the film is an old and tattered American Flag flying in sideways-blowing snow off Highway 18 in Rosebud, South Dakota. When I pointed my camera out the car window and captured that scene I never would have imagined I'd later be projecting that little flag on The White House screen. It was a real lesson and example of how creating and putting something out there, no matter how large or small the project, can often reach people and lead to places far beyond the limitations we impose. We always thought our little film had a lot of soul and was taking us along for the ride, and a year after being debuted we are happy and honored to see it still is. | 
