‘Bring Her Home’ shines light on plight of missing indigenous women
Beau Biggs photo
Patrick Yawakie, right, speaks to audience members before the film is shown.
Beau Biggs photo
Movie goers at left and center pose for a photo with Patrick Yawakie, second from left, Krysti Reichman, far right, of the Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition and tribal legal advocate Erica Shelby, second from left.
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POLSON— The award-winning documentary “Bring Her Home” was shown the Showboat movie theater on Oct. 21 to help bring awareness to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. Made in Minnesota, the film highlights the challenges indigenous people have getting equal support from law enforcement for crimes committed against their communities to the abductions of indigenous women.
The film was brought to Polson by the Flathead Reservation Human Rights Coalition. FRHRC’s Krysti Reichman and Patrick Yawakie spoke before the screening to attendees. Yawakie thanked everyone “who came out and supported us today,” while Reichman collected donations and passed out hate-free zone stickers and other items that support the coalition’s efforts. As a non-profit, the Coalition is accepting donations to help fund their hate-free zone billboard in St. Ignatius.
“The board tries to bring educational material into the community as often as we can to try and bring further awareness, and understanding of our efforts,” Reichman said. “This subject hits very close to home and we don’t really get educated on this anywhere else.”
Events like this, she added, allow for community discussion and get people to think about an important issue affecting all reservations.
“Bring Her Home” follows three indigenous women who work to get justice for their missing family members, highlighting relevant court battles and how indigenous groups have had minimal support from law enforcement. After the film ended Yawakie introduced Erica Shelby - a tribal legal advocate. “We need to stop just putting a band-aid on the problem and start working toward a better solution and get down to the root of the problem,” she said, “So we no longer have to face this crisis”. Shelby said she will keep working to get indigenous people recognized and to safe. She thanked Yawakie and Reichman for inviting her to the event and said she looks forward to further future collaboration.
