Native American and Indigenous Studies Virtual Film Festival
Thank you for attending our virtual film festival, which ended November 30, 2021. Please use the links below to watch trailers, access the festival films on Kanopy and Docuseek, or to buy.
Daughter of a Lost Bird
Directed by Brooke Pepion Swaney
US | 2021 | 66 minutes
Kendra Mylnechuk Potter, a Native woman adopted into a white family, reconnects with her Native identity and begins to view herself as a living legacy of U.S. assimilationist policy. Learn more & buy.
Honey Moccasin
A film by Shelley Niro
Canada | 1998 | 47 minutes
This all-Native production, by director Shelley Niro (Mohawk), is part of the Smoke Signals new wave of films that examine Native identity in the 1990’s. Set on the Grand Pine Indian Reservation, aka “Reservation X”, HONEY MOCCASIN combines elements of melodrama, performance art, cable access, and ‘whodunit’ to question conventions of ethnic and sexual identity as well as film narrative. Learn more & buy.
Apache 8
A film by Sande Zeig
2011 | 57 minutes | Color
For 30 years, the all-female Apache 8 unit has protected their reservation from fire and also responded to wildfires around the nation. This group of firefighters, which recently became co-ed, soon earned the reputation of being fierce, loyal and dependable—and tougher than their male colleagues. Facing gender stereotypes and the problems that come with life on the impoverished reservation, the women became known as some of the country’s most elite firefighters. Learn more & buy.
Skydancer
A film by Katja Esson US | 2011 | 75 minutes
Renowned for their balance and skill, six generations of Mohawk men have been leaving their families behind on the reservation to travel to New York City, to work on some of the biggest construction jobs in the world. Learn more & buy.
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101
A film by Julianna Brannum
US | 2014 | 63 minutes
LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101 from Comanche filmmaker Julianna Brannum, chronicles the life of Comanche activist and national civil rights leader LaDonna Harris and the role that she has played in Native and mainstream America history since the 1960s. In this new verite style documentary, Brannum, the great niece of Harris, celebrates her life and the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people and her contemporary work to strengthen and rebuild indigenous communities and train emerging Native leaders around the world. Learn more & buy.
Paulette
A film by Heather Rae
US | 2019 | 18 minutes
PAULETTE follows the historic campaign of Paulette Jordan, the first Native American candidate – as well as the first woman — to win the Idaho Primary for Governor. Learn more & buy.
Without a Whisper
A film by Katsitsionni Fox
US | 2020 | 27 minutes
WITHOUT A WHISPER – KONNON:KWE is the untold story of the profound influence of Indigenous women on the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Learn more & buy.
Conscience Point
A film by Treva Wurmfeld | US | 2019 | 75 minutes
CONSCIENCE POINT unearths a deep clash of values between the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their elite Hamptons neighbors, who have made sacred land their playground. Learn more & buy.
Under the Husk
A film by Katsitsionni Fox | 2017 | 27 minutes
OHERO:KON – UNDER THE HUSK follows two Mohawk girls on their journey to become Mohawk women. Learn more & buy.
Sisters Rising
A film by Willow O’Feral and Brad Heck US | 2020 | 59 minutes
Native American survivors of sexual assault fight to restore personal and tribal sovereignty against the backdrop of an ongoing legacy of violent colonization. Learn more & buy.
Daughter of a Lost Bird
Directed by Brooke Pepion Swaney
US | 2021 | 66 minutes
Kendra Mylnechuk Potter, a Native woman adopted into a white family, reconnects with her Native identity and begins to view herself as a living legacy of U.S. assimilationist policy. Learn more & buy.
Honey Moccasin
A film by Shelley Niro
Canada | 1998 | 47 minutes
This all-Native production, by director Shelley Niro (Mohawk), is part of the Smoke Signals new wave of films that examine Native identity in the 1990’s. Set on the Grand Pine Indian Reservation, aka “Reservation X”, HONEY MOCCASIN combines elements of melodrama, performance art, cable access, and ‘whodunit’ to question conventions of ethnic and sexual identity as well as film narrative. Learn more & buy.
Apache 8
A film by Sande Zeig
2011 | 57 minutes | Color
For 30 years, the all-female Apache 8 unit has protected their reservation from fire and also responded to wildfires around the nation. This group of firefighters, which recently became co-ed, soon earned the reputation of being fierce, loyal and dependable—and tougher than their male colleagues. Facing gender stereotypes and the problems that come with life on the impoverished reservation, the women became known as some of the country’s most elite firefighters. Learn more & buy.
Skydancer
A film by Katja Esson US | 2011 | 75 minutes
Renowned for their balance and skill, six generations of Mohawk men have been leaving their families behind on the reservation to travel to New York City, to work on some of the biggest construction jobs in the world. Learn more & buy.
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101
A film by Julianna Brannum
US | 2014 | 63 minutes
LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101 from Comanche filmmaker Julianna Brannum, chronicles the life of Comanche activist and national civil rights leader LaDonna Harris and the role that she has played in Native and mainstream America history since the 1960s. In this new verite style documentary, Brannum, the great niece of Harris, celebrates her life and the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people and her contemporary work to strengthen and rebuild indigenous communities and train emerging Native leaders around the world. Learn more & buy.
Paulette
A film by Heather Rae
US | 2019 | 18 minutes
PAULETTE follows the historic campaign of Paulette Jordan, the first Native American candidate – as well as the first woman — to win the Idaho Primary for Governor. Learn more & buy.
Without a Whisper
A film by Katsitsionni Fox
US | 2020 | 27 minutes
WITHOUT A WHISPER – KONNON:KWE is the untold story of the profound influence of Indigenous women on the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Learn more & buy.
Conscience Point
A film by Treva Wurmfeld | US | 2019 | 75 minutes
CONSCIENCE POINT unearths a deep clash of values between the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their elite Hamptons neighbors, who have made sacred land their playground. Learn more & buy.
Under the Husk
A film by Katsitsionni Fox | 2017 | 27 minutes
OHERO:KON – UNDER THE HUSK follows two Mohawk girls on their journey to become Mohawk women. Learn more & buy.
Sisters Rising
A film by Willow O’Feral and Brad Heck US | 2020 | 59 minutes
Native American survivors of sexual assault fight to restore personal and tribal sovereignty against the backdrop of an ongoing legacy of violent colonization. Learn more & buy.