Sisters Rising is an urgent call to action, a gorgeous portrait of women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Indigenous women in the United States.
"The abhorrent violence that is a constant in the lives of Indigenous peoples impacts Indigenous women first,” says Co-producer Jaida Grey Eagle (Ogala Lakota), “We are on the frontlines of an ongoing legacy of violent colonization, and it is vitally important that the world see and hear us.”
Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women. 1 in 3 Native women report having been raped during her lifetime and 86% of the offenses are committed by non-Native men. These perpetrators exploit gaps in tribal jurisdictional authority and target Native women as ‘safe victims’. SISTERS RISING follows six women who refuse to let this pattern of violence continue in the shadows: a tribal cop in the midst of the North Dakota oil boom, an attorney fighting to overturn restrictions on tribal sovereignty, a teacher of Indigenous women’s self-defense, grassroots advocates working to influence legislative change, and the author of the first anti-sex trafficking code to be introduced to a reservation’s tribal court. Their stories shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.
Sisters Rising is now available for purchase for schools and institutions through our fiscal sponsors, Women Make Movies!
"IN A PORTRAIT OF SIX BRAVE PARTICIPANTS WHO REFUSE TO LET A PATTERN OF VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN CONTINUE ON IN THE SHADOWS, THIS FILM SHINES AN UNFLINCHING AND ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING LIGHT ONTO RIGHTING INJUSTICE ON BOTH AN INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMIC LEVEL."
BIG SKY JURY STATEMENT ABOUT SISTERS RISING
PAST SCREENINGS
Women's Film Festival
CANCELED — September, 2020
The Americas Film Festival of New York (TAFFNY)
VIRTUAL FILM FESTIVAL, Presented by the Smithsonian NMAI — June 28, 2020
Arctic University of Norway
VIRTUAL SCREENING — June 15, 2020
Vermont Network Against Sexual & Domestic Violence
VIRTUAL SCREENING — May 19, 2020
MN 350: Building a Climate Movement in Minnesota
VIRTUAL SCREENING — May 9, 2020
Women Make Movies, Films Interrupted
VIRTUAL FESTIVAL — April 17-19, 2020
California's American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival
Feb 20th, 2020
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Feb 20th, 2020
Big Sky Film Festival
WORLD PREMIERE — Feb 16th, 2020
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“THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW AND I BELIEVE SISTERS RISING IS A POWERFUL CONTRIBUTING VOICE.”
SARAH DEER, MUSCOGEE CREEK LAWYER, ADVOCATE AND PROFESSOR
FILMMAKERS
WILLOW O'FERAL
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
WILLOW O'FERAL is the award-winning director, producer and cinematographer of two ....
TANTOO CARDINAL
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
TANTOO CARDINAL is a Cree/Metis actor, writer, and activist, and arguably the most widely ...
BRAD HECK
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
BRAD HECK is a filmmaker, cinematographer, and educator. Sisters Rising is Brad’s ...
JENN RUFF
EDITOR
JENN RUFF is a filmmaker, editor, artist, and educator. She has worked on numerous award-winning ...
JAIDA GREY EAGLE
CO-PRODUCER
JAIDA GREY EAGLE is a Oglala Lakota artist, born in Pine Ridge,
South Dakota and raised in ...
RAZELLE BENALLY
ASSISTANT EDITOR
RAZELLE BENALLY is a Oglala Lakota/Diné filmmaker currently attending the Tisch School ...
ALLISON LEIALOHA MILHAM
COMPOSER
ALLISON LEIALOHA MILHAM is a musician, visual artist, and educator of Native Hawaiian descent who has been writing and recording music for over 15 ...
"SISTERS RISING IS NOT ONLY A VISUALLY STUNNING AND A POWERFUL PORTRAIT OF THE POWER AND RESILIENCY OF NATIVE WOMEN IN AMERICA, IT SKILLFULLY CONNECTS THE HIGH RATES OF VIOLENCE AND MURDER EXPERIENCED BY NATIVE WOMEN TO THE LEGACY OF COLONIZATION AND OUR CULTURE OF EXTRACTION AND DOMINATION. IF YOU WANT TO DEEPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACTS OF WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE ON NATIVE WOMEN, THIS IS GREAT PLACE TO START."
ANNE SMITH, VERMONT NETWORK AGAINST DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE
SUPPORT
Please consider donating to the following front-line organizations:
Contact your state senator and ask them to reauthorize the House's version of VAWA.
Given the current state of the industry, with festivals and theaters closing due to COVID-19, we need your support now more than ever to get our film to audiences across the US. Please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsors, Women Make Movies.
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And as always, please continue to help us to spread the word. Thank you!