Film review: An inspiring portrait of Madonna Thunder Hawk and her daughter, Warrior Women inspires
The documentary screening at KDocsFF 2022 follows the passing down of Indigenous culture—and activism—through the generations
Marcella Gilbert (left) and Madonna Thunder Hawk in Warrior Women.
KDocsFF 2022 presents Warrior Women online to February 27. On February 25 at 7 pm, a special presentation moderated by Vicki Haynes of KPU Indigenous Studies features Warrior Women with Lupita and Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again. Warrior Women’s key subjects Madonna Thunder Hawk and Marcella Gilbert will be in attendance, along with Lupita director Monica Wise Robles and Guadalupe Vázquez Luna (aka Lupita); Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse, film subject of Mary Two-Axe Earley: and I Am Indian Again and executive director of Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation.
WARRIOR WOMEN FOLLOWS the formation and growth of the American Indian Movement, focusing on the extraordinary efforts of Madonna Thunder Hawk, one of its founders. Having fought for the rights of Indigenous people for over five decades, the Lakota activist is not only a fierce role model for youth, she is also an inspiration to women everywhere.
Early on in the documentary by Elizabeth A. Castle and Christina D. King, there’s a clip of Thunder Hawk at a protest saying to the camera, “however we get the job done—whatever it takes”, and that’s exactly how she lives her life. A woman of action, proud of her roots, determined to protect Indigenous culture and identity, she’s not afraid of white people and is dedicated to saving her people’s children and her people’s land.
A member of the Oohenumpa band of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Thunder Hawk started the We Will Remember Survival School for Indian youth who had been drop-outs or “push-outs” from the mainstream educational system or whose parents were facing federal charges. From the occupation of Alcatraz to the siege at Wounded Knee to appearances at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the film illustrates, through heartfelt interviews and fascinating archival footage, Thunder Hawk’s drive and conviction.
She’s also a mom, and Warrior Women gives glimpses into her close relationship with her daughter. Marcella Gilbert has been by her mother’s side battling oppression her whole life, while not only honouring Indigenous culture but living it. She has also helped her mom express her emotions, something the elder community organizer never learned to do growing up in boarding school. As Thunder Hawk looks to pass the torch, she and her daughter reflect on their family’s legacy, their pivotal involvement in the ongoing push for sovereignty.
An inspiring portrait of a remarkable mother-daughter duo, Warrior Women is not only an ideal film to add to school curricula but also top pick for International Women’s Day coming up.
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