Indian boarding school film debate begins at Babcock Theater

BILLINGS — A film series opening Wednesday, Nov. 29 at the Babcock Theater delves into the legacy of Indian residential schools with the goal of helping others open up about their own experiences with historical trauma. I am.

Free screenings of the films “Indian Horse” and “Crow’s Bone” will be held at Babcock throughout the day, with a panel of hosts, including one of the film’s actors, discussing the film and how it impacts Indigenous peoples. I will moderate the discussion. community.

The event is sponsored by Northern Cheyenne Recovery Center, Red Eagle Soaring and the Society of War Dancers in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month and Sand Creek Massacre Remembrance.

Event organizers say showing films and discussing trauma can also help build resilience.

“We know our people are hurting and suffering,” Eugene Little Coyote said. “We want people to understand why, the root causes of it, and start a conversation so we can begin to heal.”

The day’s events begin at 8 a.m. with a ceremony at the Northern Cheyenne Tribe building in Lame Deer, after which buses will take participants to Babcock in Billings.

There will be an Indian Horse show at 1 p.m., followed by a panel discussion and a Bones of Crows performance at 6 p.m. All parts of the event are free and open to the public, including free popcorn at the movies.

November 29 marks the anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre, in which nearly 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children, and elderly men were killed in a surprise attack on a village by U.S. cavalry.