Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, deepen your literacy by watching these films that engage with the indigenous experience.

End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock directed by Shannon Kring
Featuring shocking, never-before-seen law enforcement video surrendered by a disgraced officer, End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock is the incredible story of the indigenous women who establish a peaceful camp in protest of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated ancient burial and prayer sites and threatens their land, water, and very existence.

First Daughter and the Black Snake directed by Keri Pickett
Winona LaDuke believes Big Oil is the black snake predicted in indigenous prophecy to bring the earth’s destruction. When new oil pipelines threaten sacred wild rice lakes, Winona dreams of riding her horse against the current of oil, organizing a spiritual ride, “because a horse can kill a snake.”

Fruits of Labor directed by Emily Cohen Ibañez
Ashley, a Mexican-American teenager living in California, dreams of graduating high school and going to college. But when ICE raids threaten her family, Ashley is forced to become the breadwinner, working days in the strawberry fields and nights at a food processing company.

Jewel’s Hunt directed by Alexandra Stergiou
Jewel comes from a long line of skilled native Alaskan hunters. But can she balance the complications of a modern teenager with her connection to village life?

Kapaemahu directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
This story reveals the healing power of four mysterious boulder on Waikiki Beach – and the legendary dual female and male spirits within them.

Maxima directed by Claudia Sparrow
An indigenous woman from the Peruvian Andes who cannot read or write, stands up to the largest gold producer in the world, US-based Newmont Mining Corporation.

Out of State directed by Ciara Lacy
After a cultural transformation in an Arizona prison, two Hawaiian men return to Hawaii to start life over and wrestle with pressures from the outside world.

Powerlands directed by Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso
In Powerlands, a young Navajo filmmaker investigates displacement of Indigenous people and devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies that have exploited the land where she was born. On this personal and political journey she learns from Indigenous activists across three continents.

Pure Grit directed by Kim Bartley
Pure Grit chronicles the life of Sharmaine, a ten time Native American bareback horse racing champion as she navigates the highs and lows of life on and off the reservation. Pure Grit is an exhilarating and deeply affecting film about life, love and the challenges of growing up on the harsh but magnificent Wind River reservation in Wyoming.

Sisters Rising co-directed by Willow O’Feral
Sisters Rising is a powerful feature documentary about six Native American women reclaiming personal & tribal sovereignty. Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women and 86 percent of the offenses are committed by non-Native men. Follow six women who refuse to let this pattern of violence continue in the shadows as their stories shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.

The Boxers of Brule directed by Jessie Adler
The Boxers of Brule is a story of healing through sport, sisterhood and tradition. In response to rising youth suicide rates within their tribe, a group of girls from the Kul Wicasa Oyate form a boxing team on their reservation in present day South Dakota.

The Heart Stays directed by Diane Fraher
The Heart Stays tells the story of two Native American sisters from Osage Nation who leave the traditions and safety of their Native Nation to follow their own long-held dreams-the older one to attend a distinguished college and the younger one to become a rock star. Soon after leaving their beloved land and community their life journeys collide with racism, drugs and violence forcing the older sister to choose between her own life’s work and saving her sister’s life.

The Electric Indian directed by Leya Hale
A documentary from filmmaker Leya Hale, The Electric Indian follows Ojibwe hockey legend, Henry Boucha.

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Please also take a moment to acknowledge what native land you are on and explore additional resources here.