LAPUSH — MSN.com is set to offer a public apology to the Quileute tribe today for a video shot on Stephenie Meyer Weekend in September that showed unapproved filming on the reservation — including scenes of the cemetery and graves, said tribal spokeswoman Jackie Jacobs.
Jacobs said she was first alerted to the video on Nov. 12 — just two days before she and tribal council members left for the Los Angeles premiere of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
“It was such a bittersweet trip because I found out just two days before, and I knew I would be going to this huge celebration and would have to sit down and tell the council about it,” Jacobs said.
“I couldn’t really reiterate verbally or adequately convey what those images were like.”
The film crew shot images of the Tribal Council building, totem poles, First Beach, the Senior Center and the Quileute Cemetery.
The film was set to dark music — described by Jacobs as “macabre” — and was filmed in an amateur documentary style.
Grave of chief
Repeatedly zooming in and out on a grave of a Quileute tribal chief — who Jacobs did not name — also added to the dark, suspenseful nature of the short film.
“As a native woman, I was astounded and sick to my stomach — especially knowing I was the person who would have to tell the family about this,” Jacobs said.
When Jacobs spoke with MSN on Nov. 12, it took the video down within minutes, she said.
Jacobs said the filmmakers had contacted the Forks Chamber of Commerce for permission to film points of interest for a virtual Twilight tour.
Meyer is the author of the Twilight series; she was not associated with the MSN project.
She said no one at the tribe was contacted for permission to film on the reservation.
“Anyone who is conducting business on our sovereign nation should go through the proper channels,” she said.
Her contact information as well as the tribal numbers appear on the Web site www.quileutenation.org, she said.
Pain and suffering
“This situation has caused an enormous amount of pain and suffering to the Quileute Nation as a whole, but especially to the descendants of the Quileute chief,” she said.
“An apology will never erase that hurt.
“Besides heartbreak, I was in shock and perplexed that an organization that presents itself as culturally sensitive and aware to indigenous people’s plights all over the world could make such an egregious choice in their own backyards.”
Jacobs said the tribe plans to work with MSN, which will produce a series of educational videos that the tribe can use to teach about its culture.
“We need to use the situation as an educational opportunity to teach the world how to conduct themselves when visiting a sovereign nation,” said Carol Hatch, Quileute tribal chairwoman.
Among the etiquette guidelines the tribe posted on its site http://www.quileutenation.org/indian-country-etiquette is: “Burial grounds and religious ceremonies are sacred and are not to be entered.”
“You can’t really erase these situations,” Jacobs said.
“But you can utilize it as an educational platform.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.