Hunting in Wartime

Hunting in Wartime profiles the stories of Tlingit Native Americans from the village of Hoonah, Alaska who served in the Vietnam War. Their stories confront the complexity of serving a country that systematically oppressed them; a government that forbid the Tlingit language, over-logged their forests, and established laws that robbed returning vets of their ancestral trade as fishermen. Furthermore, their stories expose on a very personal level the human experience of war and it’s lasting effects on veterans as well as their communities. Many vets succumbed to the horrors of alcoholism, PTSD and suicide; while some were able to climb back out to lead the next generation back to their Tlingit heritage.

There are many films out today that profile veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hunting In Wartime has the long-range perspective of how a soldier’s life was affected long after the war ended, giving us a glimpse into what present-day soldiers may confront in the future. The film portrays a stark reality of the human cost of war.