Chatham County issued the following announcement on Aug. 2.
Chatham Community Library will host a virtual screening of the documentary SISTERS RISING (2020), beginning Thursday, August 12 and continuing through Thursday, August 19, 2021. SISTERS RISING is the story of six Native American women fighting to restore personal and tribal sovereignty in the face of ongoing sexual violence against Indigenous women in the United States. This program is free and open to the public.
According to the filmmakers, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women. One in three Native women reports having been raped during her lifetime, and 86% of the offenses are committed by non-Native men. The film also demonstrates that perpetrators exploit gaps in tribal jurisdictional authority and target Native women as “safe victims.”
The film follows six women who refuse to let patterns of violence continue in the shadows: a tribal cop in the midst of the North Dakota oil boom, an attorney fighting to overturn restrictions on tribal sovereignty, a teacher of Indigenous women’s self-defense, grassroots advocates working to influence legislative change, and the author of the first anti-sex trafficking code to be introduced to a reservation’s tribal court. Their stories shine a light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.
Film highlights and awards include:
Honorable Mention Big Sky Award, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Best Film Award, Women's Voices Now Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature, American Indian Film Festival
Thaddeus Stevens Award, Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
Access to the virtual screening will be available beginning August 12, by visiting https://www.wmm.com/virtual-screening-room/sisters-rising-watch-page-chatham-community-library. A password is required at the time of viewing. Those who are interested may contact social.library@chathamlibraries.org to request the password or for additional information.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Chatham County
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