This week's featured Vision Maker Media film, "Looking Toward Home," looks through the eyes of Native Americans who left the reservation for life in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning with a look at government relocation programs of the 1950s and 1960s, the film tells … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks: Looking Toward Home

"I didn't know the medical words, so I called the problem what I felt it to be - the thick dark fog." Up through the 1970s, Native American children were frequently removed from their families and sent to federal Indian boarding schools in an attempt to "civilize" them - "kill the Indian, and save the … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks: The Thick Dark Fog

"If it's not the best running movie ever made, it's damn sure in the fight." (Christopher Marlowe, author of Born To Run.) This week's Vision Maker Media film, "Racing the Rez," focuses on the lives of five Navajo and Hopi teenagers from rival high schools as they compete for state championship glory in cross-country running. … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks: Racing the Rez

This week's Emmy-nominated Vision Maker Media Film, "The Great American Footrace," tells the story of a small-town Cherokee boy who competes in one of history's wildest publicity schemes -- and takes home the gold. 199 runners left Los Angeles on March 4, 1928; only 55 crossed the finish line in New York City 84 days … Continue reading 40 Years, 40 Films, 40 Weeks: The Great American Footrace

Industrial hemp is illegal in the United States due to its relationship to marijuana; it's also one of the few profitable plants which can grow in South Dakota's inhospitable soil. In 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family came up with a plan to farm hemp on their home of Pine Ridge Reservation, relieving the … Continue reading 40 Years, 40 Films, 40 Weeks: Standing Silent Nation

This week's award-winning Vision Maker Media film looks at the conflicts that surround America's sacred spaces. The Colorado Plateau in the Southwest, Mount Shasta in California, and Devil's Tower in Wyoming are all holy sites to tribal nations -- but they're also rich in natural resources, not to mention beloved by recreational users such as … Continue reading 40 Years, 40 Films, 40 Weeks: In the Light of Reverence

With lead in the water and towering piles of waste covering 25,000 acres of land, the EPA calls the mining town of Picher, Oklahoma the most toxic place in America. Still, the town's inhabitants, including the local Quapaw Tribe, call it home. "The Creek Runs Red," this week's featured Vision Maker Media film, goes into a … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks: The Creek Runs Red

This week, Vision Maker Media takes a culinary journey with Loretta Barrett Oden, a renowned Native American chef, food historian and lecturer, and proud woman of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. "Seasoned with Spirit: Food Upon the Water" combines Native American history and culture with delicious, healthy recipes inspired by indigenous foods. Much more than simply … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks – Seasoned With Spirit: Food Upon the Water

In this week's featured Vision Maker Media film, filmmaker Lena Carr documents her niece's Kinaaldá -- a Navajo celebration of the transition from childhood to womanhood that the filmmaker herself was unable to experience. In documenting the four-day coming-of-age ceremony, Carr provides a rare insider's look at Navajo culture and the complexities of growing up … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks – Kinaalda: Navajo Rite of Passage

In 1980, Jerry Richardson, a 24-year-old black man from East Texas who had just finished college in Louisiana, took a job coaching the varsity girls' basketball team in the depressed Navajo town of Shiprock, New Mexico. The Lady Chieftains launch themselves on a journey towards victory -- but success comes at a cost, and behind-the-scenes … Continue reading Forty Years, Forty Films, Forty Weeks: Rocks With Wings