Indigenous film series continues with free admission
Nicole Tavenner
the Entertainer Theater, Main Street Ronan
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RONAN – The Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition’s Indigenous Film Series provides a platform for community members to celebrate the value of Native culture and address present-day challenges.
The fifth annual film series is taking place at the Entertainer Theater in Ronan every Sunday through October at 1 pm. Admission is free.
The FRHRC has been working to reduce anti-Indian sentiment and advocate for tribal sovereignty since it was founded in 1989. Cathy Billie, FRHRC secretary-treasurer and founding member, said that the film series furthers this mission by highlighting the multicultural nature of the Flathead Reservation.
“It’s a way to educate people about tribal customs and celebrate indigenous filmmakers and actors,” Billie said. She added that the film festival highlights a simple, important message: “Native people do count.”
After each film, the FRHRC leads a discussion about the content and implications of the film. Billie said that the opportunity for community discussion is the part of the showings that has the greatest impact.
The opening film of the series was shown on Oct. 7 with the film “Skinwalkers,” which is a story about Navajo detectives. About 120 people attended the screening, nearly filling the theater to capacity.
Another film in this year’s series will cover a Kootenai Tribe in Idaho and their work towards federal recognition. A Lakota elder is featured in another film. The final event of the series will feature excerpts from a play and several short films that address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
Billie said that this final event, which will be held Oct. 28, is particularly important to her. A woman in Billie’s family is one of the many indigenous women who have been killed in the last year. Darlene Billie disappeared from the Flathead Reservation in October 2017. Her remains were found in North Dakota in September 2018.
“This is such an epidemic all over the country on Indian reservations,” Billie said.
The Violence Against Women Act, which included legislation intended to protect Native women from violence, is up for reauthorization by Congress this fall.
The discussion will focus on finding solutions locally and nationally for ending the trend of violence toward indigenous women.
Billie said a significant step toward reducing crime against Native women is to celebrate the important roles women play in their communities. “Women have been pillars of strength in the tribes,” she said. “To have this happen over and over, and little being done about, it is certainly a travesty.”
The Oct. 28 event will not be appropriate for children.
