WITHOUT ARROWS

NATIVE AMERICAN FILM SERIES
MONDAY, JULY 13 (7:00PM)

Without Arrows is a longitudinal portrait of a Lakota family living on a reservation in South Dakota, that unfolds over the course of 12 years. Delwin Fiddler Jr. is a champion grass dancer who grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in South Dakota, but left as a young man to escape a trauma that splintered his family and built a new life in Philadelphia. Thirteen years later, Delwin returns home to attempt to heal the past.

The July 13 screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s directors Elizabeth Day and Jonathan Olshfeski, and the film’s subjet Delwin Fiddler Jr. Moderated by Joseph Rousseau.

JOSEPH ROUSSEAU is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a Gulf War–era Navy veteran. For more than 24 years, he has dedicated his career to serving youth as both an educator and administrator within Lincoln Public Schools. From 2007 to 2018, Joe also served continuously on the Board of Directors for the Lincoln Indian Center. Raised in Norfolk by his mother and grandmother, he was able to spend time with his American Indian grandparents during summer visits throughout his middle school years. Those experiences, along with the strong support and guidance of the Lincoln Urban Indian community, helped him further strengthen his understanding of and connection to his Indigenous identity. Today, Joe serves as the American Indian Education Program Coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools, where he works to support Native students and advance educational outcomes for Indigenous youth.

ELIZABETH DAY (Ojibwe) is a filmmaker from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born on the Leech Lake Reservation and raised in the Twin Cities area, Day blends her Native American heritage with her urban upbringing to create films that employ traditional Ojibwe-style storytelling while using contemporary filmmaking techniques. Her work often explores the tension between traditional Native teachings and the life of a modern, urban Indian. A primary motivation for Day is recording and capturing the quickly fading pastimes of Ojibwe culture, an important and integral piece of Minnesota’s history. Through the medium of film, she examines a broad swath of Native history, from the rich Ojibwe tradition of storytelling to the painful history of government-enforced boarding schools to the modern-day identity issues faced by Native families.

JONATHAN OLSHEFSKI is an artist and documentary filmmaker. His debut feature documentary QUEST premiered at Sundance in 2017. He was named as one of 25 New Faces in Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine and mentioned in the New York Times as one of “The 9 New Directors You Need to Watch.” In 2018 he received the “Truer Than Fiction Award” at the Independent Spirit Awards and was selected for a Pew Artist Fellowship. Olshefski strives to tell intimate and nuanced stories that honor his protagonists’ complexity by employing a production process that emphasizes collaboration, dialogue, and relationship seeking to amplify their voices and reflect their points of view in an artful way. He is a Professor at Rowan University and lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

DELWIN ELK BEAR FIDDLER JR is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Sans Arc band, and a world renowned Native American performing Artist. Delwin’s accolades include performing for two American President’s and the Royal Family in England. As a teenager he was a champion Grass and Hoop dancer on the pow-wow circuit. His traditional Grass Dance is displayed in a continual loop at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Delwin created the non-profit PAZA Tree of Life to fulfill his mother’s dream of returning the people to the roots of their culture. PAZA’s goal is to promote cultural awareness with cultural exchange so that all people might learn the medicine ways of his ancestors who have walked the earth for thousands of years. Delwin believes that through empowerment and reconciliation, healing can occur. Like his ancestor, Crazy Horse, he sees the future with all people working together in harmony for the greater good of humankind. You can learn more about Paza here: www.pazatree.org.

Now in it’s third year, the Native American Film Series at The Ross features free monthly screenings showcasing Native American films and television programs from the Vision Maker Media public broadcasting archives. Presented by The Ross Media Arts Center, Vision Maker Media, and Friends of The Ross.

Unless otherwise noted, screenings in this series will take place on the second Monday of each month and are admission free and open to the public. Tickets available at the Ross box office (online ticketing not available for free screenings).