Women Of The White Buffalo gives us exclusive access to the lives of nine women, ranging in ages from ten to ninety-eight, as we explore powerful testimonials of loss and survival, gaining insight into the experiences of a modern day Native American Indian living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Gripping historical accounts and startling timely statistics guide viewers down the path that has led to these present day conditions.

The indelible voices of these determined women inspire us with their strength, gifting us with ancient insights that speak to our current global, environmental and cultural crises. These are the powerfully rich stories of the brave women and children living in the poorest county in the United States.

The film has won 7 International film awards to date.

To meet the women featured in the film, please go to the Featured Stories on our website: https://bit.ly/3Beda26

Mother Earth is weeping, which we can all see and feel in our planets’ imminent ecological crises. The centuries-long massacre and erasure of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas parallels humanity’s greed and careless destruction of our precious planet as a whole.  Native people of all ages living in the Americas are on the front lines, living in their homeland under ruthless, foreign systems that have pillaged their land, language, culture, and communities. 

The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Lakota tribe, is where this battle is fought everyday. It is a place of tremendous heritage, cultural wealth, tradition, and skill, yet where the failures of our government, our politicians, our laws, our education and humanity are laid bare.

“No one knows how many Indigenous women are murdered each year. That makes the deaths hard to stop. There is still no definitive count of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S., in part because of underreporting of crimes and police reports that misclassify Native American women as white or Hispanic. Police generally do not document victims’ tribal affiliation which means even tribal governments don’t understand the scope of the problem among their own citizens. 

Based on available research, more than 4 out of 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women experience violence in their lifetime, according to a National Institute of Justice study.”
(Reference:https://nbcnews.to/3jnhW7i)

To get this off the ground

The funds raised here will be used to self-distribute the feature documentary film ‘Women Of The White Buffalo’ which has been funded completely through the generosity of our donors. The money will be spent on final edit completion which will  include: music mastering, color correction, upload of film to worldwide distribution channels,PR support, social media support, trailer edit, multi-language subtitles and publicity materials.

The donations allow for the audience to join the conversation and support the voices of the First Nations, helping spread their stories in order to bring awareness to the current reality of life on an Indian Reservation and what it is to be a modern day Native American here in the United States.

No donation is too small in our effort to reach $75,000

Here is what we will use the money for:

3%+$0.20 for transaction fee 

8% IndieGoGo fee which includes processing fees

$2,500 – Website maintenance and support

$3,500 – Insurance on the film

$5,000 – Aggregator costs in supporting the uploading of the film to online platforms

$5,000 – Legal support 

$5,000 – Social media support, advertising, post pushes and out-reach

$5,000 – Additional bank fees, currency conversion, wire fees, credit card fees & tax

$9,000 – Internal team supporting the release of the film over a 4 month period

$10,000 – Final edit and deliverable costs including mastering the music, final color correction, overall final production fixes

$20,000 – Professional film PR company to support the release of the film over a 4 month period, allowing mainstream media to see and review it so as to reach a broader audience.

It will take 60-90 days for the film to be uploaded onto our distribution platforms for the film to be available in the new year of 2022. We will announce these platforms prior to the release date.

What you get in return

As a way of showing our gratitude, each donation will grant you premiere access to the film prior to the official launch date.

You will be eligible to receive a beautiful photographic print by Deborah Anderson, the award winning photographer, director and producer of the film. Please head to our gallery to see more options and select the donation level in our ‘perks’ section.

The impact

This is a film about the lives of Native women and girls of all ages who are fighting in order to protect their families, reunite with their cultures, and to thrive in a society that has tried its best to forget them. These are the Women of the White Buffalo.

The intention of this film is to shine a light on our Native sisters, to ensure that their voices are included in this current wave of global women’s empowerment, and to inspire the next generation of Native youth to utilize their own ancient wisdom in the much needed healing of their communities. For all viewers, this film is an opportunity to learn from this intensely beautiful and powerful culture including some of the forces that perpetuate racism, abuse, and inequality.

It is time we learnt to accept responsibility for our part in the recovery and preservation of our shared home. As they say in Lakota, Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ , “We are all related.”

“I realized when I first started making the film that I would NOT bring in the usual type of investors to loan me the money needed, with a return on that investment, as I didn’t want anyone to invest in the Natives on any level. It would be made by way of gifts with a pure heart so as to be able to hear the unfiltered truths. This is a film for the people, with the support of the people, a tangible call-to-action with the ability to engage audiences in this critical conversation, and to serve as a conduit for a deeper understanding of the crisis Indigenous peoples, and ultimately all of us, are now facing in the current world climate. 

Historically, Indigenous peoples passed down their understanding by way of sharing stories with one another orally. It is clear that these stories shaped their world as this oral tradition was passed down from generation to generation. Since the European settlers took over, these people have been silenced in ways that would be unthinkable in modern times, breaking their traditions and their spirit in the hopes that they would disappear. This film is a way to honor this tradition by way of sharing their stories, so as to elevate their voices once more.

I believe documentary film is a vital tool for holding people, governments and corporations accountable by bringing awareness to important issues. The stories of the Lakota women were shared with me as I worked intimately, compassionately and artfully to capture not just these women’s words, but the very essence of their current circumstances.”

– Director and Producer, Deborah Anderson

Why we need your help

With your support you will help us launch this film into the world, bringing attention to the realities Natives face in America, a topic that is still not front and centre in our mainstream media.

By giving this film a global platform, the voices of the Indian Nations will be elevated worldwide.

Please join us on this journey and be one of the many seeds of hope, connection and healing.

Filmmakers

DEBORAH ANDERSON – Director, Producer & Writer

Award winning filmmaker and photographer, Deborah Anderson’s work has graced the covers of pop music albums and magazines, as well as the walls of an expansive clientele of private homes and landmark hotels worldwide. Her photographic work has hung in galleries both in Europe and the US. The world-class Leica Galleries have hosted three shows in the US for this project. Her first feature documentary film project AROUSED included a fine art photographic book was theatrically released reaching #3 on iTunes’ documentary most viewed list and was featured on Showtime and Amazon Video. She has created short films and music videos for various celebrated artists including “MY REVOLUTION” with award-winning writer and activist (Vagina Monologues author) Eve Ensler along with the voice of actress Rosario Dawson and the short film RISE with Thandie Newton for the One Billion Rising organization.

Personal website: www.deborahanderson.com

KUMIKO HYASHI – Producer/Cinematographer

Kumiko Hayashi was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a documentary film director, producer, and cinematographer. She is the founder of Soka Vision, an organization dedicated to creating value and community through media. She is the director/producer of the film, THE ROOTS AWAKEN (2019), a documentary about indigenous tribes in Ecuador rising up in a united prayer to protect their culture and territory. And of AMANECER (2014) a feature-length film about the birth of the indigenous Hip Hop movement in South America.

ADAM SCHOMER – Producer

Adam Schomer is a Documentary Film and TV Director, Writer, Producer and the president of i2i Productions. The award-winning film THE HIGHEST PASS (2012) was theatrically released and took a deep look at fear and death amidst an epic Himalayan motorcycle adventure. Other critically acclaimed films include THE POLYGON (2014) and ONE LITTLE PILL (2015). Recently, Adam Schomer produced and architected the release of the feature documentary HEAL (2017) a #1 Best-Selling Documentary on iTunes, released on NETFLIX in 2019 and THE ROAD TO DHARMA (2019), a 10-episode Docu-Series for television.

CHARLOTTE CHATTON – Writer/Co-Producer

Charlotte Chatton worked for over 15 years as a professional Film & TV actress in London and Los Angeles before entering an intensive screenwriting program at Writers Boot Camp, where she eventually became an instructor. Charlotte founded The Next Level Script and is now an international go-to story analyst and script doctor to award-winning directors, producers and actors. She was the first Executive Producer to support the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary, California Typewriter. ‘Women of the White Buffalo’ is the first feature to be co-produced under her new banner, Westmount Pictures.

RAMA MIGUEL TORRES – Director of Photography

Miguel Rama Torres, with a background in photography and art, a natural shift into filmmaking was inevitable. Rama doesn’t consider himself just a cinematographer, but rather a video storyteller and artist, capturing truth and beauty through the eye of his lens. His diverse portfolio includes numerous documentaries, commercials, short films, music videos and feature films. Cinematography and aerial cinematography have allowed Rama to follow his heart and travel the world extensively. He captures the essence of that which is wanting to be told and shared.

Producers

Deborah Anderson
Charles Barsamian
Kumiko Hayashi
Adam Schomer

Co-Producers
Matthew Rebula
Rachelle Garzia
Charlotte Chatton

Executive Producers
Lekha Singh
Angus Mitchell
Eve Ensler
The Edge
Julian Lennon
Tamara Mellon
Ian McNeel
Christopher Stone
Keely Shaye Brosnan
Alice Bamford

Associate Producers
Carol Iron Rope Herrera
Linda Livingston

The Lakota

The Lakota, pronounced laˈkˣota]; Lakȟóta/Lakhóta, come from the sub band Titowann or Teton meaning “Prairie Dwellers”. They are the 7th band of the Oceti Sakowyn (O-che-ti Sha-ko-wi) The Seven Council Fires, internationally known as the Sioux Nation of Indians.

The Sioux are Indigenous, Native American and First Nations people, a term that can refer to any ethnic group within the American continents. Their reservation boundaries cover some 200,000 km2 in the present day state of South Dakota. 

The Dakota, Nakota and Lakota Nation (also known as the Sioux Nation of Indians) descends from the original inhabitants of North America and can be divided into three major linguistic and geographic groups: Lakota (Teton, West Dakota), Nakota (Yankton, Central Dakota) and Dakota (Santee, Eastern Dakota). The total number of Native North Americans is approximately 1.5 million, of which around 100,000 are Lakota. They reside near the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota but also reside in large cities across the United States. 

The Lakota people have a tradition of considering the following 7 generations when making any big decision, ensuring an abundant future for those that would come after them. The women featured in Women of the White Buffalo have been compelled to use their voices by way of sharing their stories in order to shed light on the realities of their lives and to educate so as to bring awareness to possible solutions towards change. 

Their wisdom is essential to our survival.

Please spread the word by sharing this campaign with your network and social media platforms. We are grateful for your continued support.

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