The Tulsa Indigenous Studies Alliance hosts a free screening of We’re Still Here: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited on Nov. 15 from 2-5 p.m. at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa’s historic Brady District. The cost to attend the screening is free with museum admission.
Following the film, a panel discussion will be held with Native artists and activists Richard Ray Whitman, Garrett Lebeau and Bill Miller, as well as scholars Patti Jo King, and Douglas K. Miller assistant professors of Native American history at Bacone College and Oklahoma State University, respectively.
Brian Hosmer from the University of Tulsa will moderate. The event will also feature live music performances from panelists Bill Miller and Garrett Lebeau.
Based on Antonino D’Ambrosio’s book A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, the film examines the making of Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian (1964) with folk artist Peter LeFarge.
In 1964, the album was subject to controversy by radio stations and Cash fans for speaking out on behalf of Native peoples. Inspired by D’Ambrosio’s book, the album was reimagined during its 50th anniversary last year through folk artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch among others.
The Philbrook Museum of Art, Oklahoma State University, the University of Tulsa and the Woody Guthrie Center are cosponsors of the event. For more information, visit woodyguthriecenter.org.