Film Screening of Thunderbird Woman

Join us on July 39th as we feature the documentary Thunderbird Woman, a focus on the work and accomplishments of Winona LaDuke in her efforts to create food sovereignty for the Anishinabe. Food independence translates to self-determination and increased health. We are proud to partner with the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in support of the 2016 Peace and Dignity Journey (PDJ) that united Indigenous people from all over the Americas in prayer. This year’s run is dedicated to the seeds, both physical and metaphorical. As they run across tribal lands, these runner share stories, songs and intentions for the healing of all nations. Proceeds from the event will support the PDJ, with a raffle of medicine baskets (pics coming soon) and delicious native foods. Please invite and share with your friends!

This film is an inspiring portrait of Winona La Duke, a unique and dynamic activist and member of the Anishinaabe tribe from the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota. Her father was a Native American who worked as a stuntman in Hollywood; her mother was a Jewish artist from New York.

After completing her studies in economics at Harvard, Winona settled on the reservation. She traveled widely raising money to buy back land originally owned by Native Americans. In the film, we meet Native American activists Ralph Bear Killer and Alex White Plume who describe how the US government in the late 19th century defrauded the Native Americans of so much of their land, while suppressing their language and culture. The government also slaughtered millions of buffalo upon which their agriculture depended.

Winona organized resistance against uranium and coal mining on reservation lands. Nicknamed “No Nukes la Duke,” in the 1980’s she used the slogan “No Nukes” to unite the Indian Movement in anti-nuclear protest. A published author, she was named one of America’s 50 most promising leaders under 40 years of age by TIME magazine and was also chosen by Ralph Nader to be his running mate on the Green Party ticket in the 1996 and 2000 elections.