Dodging Bullets

About

Native Americans have dodged bullets since first contact with Europeans. This film brings a cross-generational sampling of Indigenous people, researchers, and politicians to reveal stunning reasons for their disproportionately high incidences of health and social issues. This collection of remarkable stories, names Historical Trauma as the unique and insidious part of the genetic code that resilient Native American populations are still finding ways to dodge.

The film focuses on Native Americans and is not the typical “tragedy porn” film about Indian Country, it is more of an accurate portrayal of life.

The MSPIFF (Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival) selected Dodging Bullets—Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma as the winner of "Minnesota Made Documentary Feature Competition" and has named it as one of the "Best of Fest" films.

MSPIFF Jury Statement:

The documentary feature Dodging Bullets breaks new ground in form and in its subject matter. The filmmakers offer a series of largely episodic stories, intimately documented, about Native American individuals who have been impacted by ethnic genocide in the United States. These episodic narratives are joined narratively in an analysis of how each of these events has contributed to an ongoing experience of unresolved historical trauma for many in the Native American community, in which many traumatized individuals and communities epigenetically transmit unresolved trauma to future generations. Compelling in its visual and narrative approach, it is ultimately a story of resilience and hope as the filmmakers bring a nuanced perspective to a difficult topic, demonstrating the dignity of their subjects and offering the possibility of freedom from generations of inherited traumatic stress.

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