Join Bainbridge Island Museum of Art for Honor Thy Mother: Panel & Conversation. Honor Thy Mother is a documentary film about the first Indipino families on Bainbridge Island. Filmmakers and Honor Thy Mother Indipino interviewees will share their stories of growing up on Bainbridge Island as children of Indigenous mothers and Filipino immigrant fathers during the 1940s and 1950s with no sense of belonging in either culture, their struggle to assimilate into the Island’s mainstream society, and how resiliency played a role in the formation of the Indipino community today. Participants include Anna Hansen, Colleen Almojuela, Andrew Pascua, Gina Corpuz, and Lucy Ostrander.

This event is free and takes place on Zoom. Pre-registration is required.

About the Panelists

Gina Corpuz:
Gina is the daughter of Anacleto Corpuz from the Philippines and Evelyn Williams, a Squamish Nation member from British Columbia, Canada. Her father was one of the founders of the Filipino American Community of Bainbridge Island. She is a graduate of Bainbridge High School, has a BA in Ethnic Studies from Antioch University and a Master’s in Education from the University of Washington. Her work experience includes teaching for Northern Arizona University, Evergreen State College and Northwest Indian College. She currently serves on the Executive Board for the Indipino Community of Bainbridge Island and Vicinity.

Anna Hansen:
yetaxwelwet (Anna Hansen) is a member of the shίshάlh Nation and Ilocano. She is a grandmother who has worked throughout the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world, helping families, communities, and agencies better understand the impact of historical trauma on health and wellness, the need for creating trauma-wise workplaces and growing cultural humility. yetaxwelwet has a MA in psychology and post-MA specialization training for certification in existential analysis and logotherapy.

Colleen Almojuela:
The daughter of Thomas Corpuz Almojuela and Dorothy Nahanee Almojuela, Colleen Almojuela grew up on Bainbridge Island. Her father was from the Philippines and her mother was a First Nations woman from Canada. Challenged by many conflicting socioeconomic, ethnic and racial identity issues while living on the Island, Colleen made it her life’s worktrying to understand the reasons and causes of her challenges in order to shape a worldview of acceptance and inclusion. She has a Master’s degree from Pacific Oaks College.

Andrew D. Pascua:
Andy is a 1971 Graduate of Bainbridge High School; earned a degree in Human Services with a minor in Education at Seattle University. He took additional Social Service courses at various universities. Andy chaired the Governors Indian Policy Advisory Committee, the Ethnic Minority Mental Health Advisory Committee, the Western Washington Indian Education Consortium, and was vice-chair of the Nation Indian Child Welfare Association; he retired as a DSHS administrator in 2013. Andy resides with wife Maria in Neah Bay Washington.

Lucy Ostrander:
Lucy Ostrander grew up in a family who taught her from an early age the importance of social justice, which ultimately became an underlying theme in her filmmaking career. After completing graduate school in documentary film at Stanford, Lucy moved to Seattle to work on her Masters thesis film Witness to Revolution which chronicled the life of Seattle journalist Anna Louise Strong. The film won a Student Academy Award and received a national PBS broadcast which in turn launched her documentary film career. She went on to specialize in historical documentaries, focusing on the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Rim, several of which centered on the experience of Japanese Americans during WWII. In 2002, Lucy and her filmmaking partner Don Sellers, launched Stourwater Pictures which has focused on discovering and telling the stories of everyday people who have lived extraordinary and meaningful lives. With an emphasis on social justice, their award-winning films have screened in scores of festivals and universities and have been broadcast nationally on PBS as well as internationally.