By Julianna Brannum
LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101 from Comanche filmmaker Julianna Brannum, chronicles the life of Comanche activist and national civil rights leader LaDonna Harris and the role that she has played in Native and mainstream America history since the 1960s. In this new verite style documentary, Brannum, the great niece of Harris, celebrates her life and the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people and her contemporary work to strengthen and rebuild indigenous communities and train emerging Native leaders around the world.
Harris's activism began in Oklahoma, fighting segregation and assisting grassroots Native and women's groups. In Washington LaDonna introduced landmark programs and legislation returning territory to tribes, improving education and healthcare for Native Americans, ending job discrimination against women, and targeting other pressing issues of the time. For over three decades, "Indian 101," her course for legislators, combatted ignorance about America's most marginalized population. Using interviews, archival footage and photographs, this film justly celebrates one of the most important women leaders in Native American and U.S. history.
Reviews
~ "LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101¡explore(s) Harris' achievements, the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people, and her contemporary work to reshape Indian Country in America and abroad." - DeadCenter Film Festival, Oklahoma
~ "Comanche activist LaDonna Harris¡led an extensive life of Native political and social activism, and is now passing on her traditional cultural and leadership values to a new generation of emerging Indigenous leaders." - Austin Film Society
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