For National Native American Heritage Month, Use These Two Films to Combat Dehumanizing Stereotypes
More than a dozen states and over 100 cities across the nation observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 14th, setting the stage for National Native American Heritage Month in November.
If you’re looking for resources to help mark these occasions, we encourage you to screen the groundbreaking documentary More Than a Word, directed by John and Kenn Little. Ranging from deep in America’s past to today, the film traces the destructive, real-world impact of racist cultural stereotypes, and pays tribute to the ongoing Native American-led struggle to eliminate indigenous team names and mascots from U.S. sports culture.
We also urge you to watch and share this short clip from our acclaimed new release Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL, featuring celebrated Nation magazine writer Dave Zirin.
In the clip, Zirin draws explicit connections between the National Football League’s decades-long appropriation of Native American culture, its overwhelmingly white ownership structure, and larger currents of systemic racism within the league and U.S. society more broadly.
Behind the Shield and More Than a Word are both available to purchase in a variety of formats. If you’d like to book a public film screening, please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you soon.