Women of the Stony Shore : Shinnecock Kelp Farmers

Nathaniel Cummings-Lambert

2025 / 27 minutes
United States / United States
English

Best Student Film — Honorable Mention

Women of the Stony Shore follows a multigenerational coalition of Shinnecock women who use kelp farming to counter ecological damage to the waters surrounding their traditional homelands on Long Island, New York. Documenting the process of growing kelp from seedlings in artificial aquariums grown in the fall, we see how the seedlings are transferred to anchored ocean lines in December and grown over the winter to be harvested in the early spring. Throughout the growing season, we will meet the six women who have harnessed this regenerative aquaculture technique to draw pollutants out of the bay's waters through innovative farming practices rooted in the traditional custom of seaweed harvesting of the Shinnecock people. The film shares the motivations of the women involved in the farm and the importance of exercising sovereignty and treaty rights on their traditional lands. Each member has specific responsibility within the organization, which we will learn about as the growing season progresses.