ELCA Presents 'Native Nations' Documentary on ABC Television

Published on Oct 10, 2008 - 9:18:29 AM

By: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

CHICAGO, Oct. 9, 2008 - "Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights" is a one-hour documentary exploring the role of the Lutheran church in the American Indian civil rights movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The program airs Oct. 12 through the end of 2008 at various times and dates on ABC television network affiliate stations.

Information about "Native Nations," B&B Productions, current television listings and how to purchase the program on DVD is at http://www.elca.org/nativenations on the ELCA Web site. A video report of this story is at http://archive.elca.org/news/video.html on the Web.

Peter Coyote hosts "Native Nations," which B&B Productions produced for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The project was developed over 18 months on locations including Albuquerque, Minneapolis and the Navajo Nation.

"Native Nations" is "a historical documentary of the Indian civil rights movement as viewed through the relationship between the Indian people on and off the reservation and the Lutheran churches," said Syd Beane, co-producer, Minneapolis. It focuses on the 18-year life of the National Indian Lutheran Board. Beane was a board member and served as president.

"We've got a lot of historical footage and pictures of a lot of the people that were involved in those days," said Frank Blythe, senior co-producer, Lincoln, Neb. "We talked with many of the actual participants who were involved in tribal recognition and sovereignty issues. It's part of the story -- the Indian health issues that were ongoing at the time of the '60s and '70s and the passage of the Indian Health care act," he said.

"We're at a time again when a lot of these issues are emerging related to health care, related to environment, related to land and water and energy. These are all issues we deal with in the film," Beane said.

Michelle Danforth, director and co-writer, Green Bay, Wis., said she has described the documentary to several people who had similar reactions: "I didn't realize that the Lutheran Church was so involved with the Indian civil rights movement, and the impact that the Lutheran church actually had on the whole movement."

Beane, Blythe and Danforth are Native Americans.

"Native Nations" is made possible through the ELCA's relationships with the Interfaith Broadcast Commission and the National Council of Churches, USA. The Odyssey Networks provided some funding.

Web site: http://www.elca.org/

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