Private Project

Indianland

In 1969, Native student activists crossed the San Francisco Bay and claimed the abandoned Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the name of "Indians of All Tribes." 50 years later they meet again.

  • Liz Irons
    Director
    Wolf Point: Red Road Stories
  • Liz Irons
    Producer
  • Jonny BearCub Stiffarm
    Producer
  • Kelli R. Clark
    Producer
  • Jonny BearCub Stiffarm
    Key Cast
    "self"
    Wolf Point: Red Road Stories
  • Herb Butler
    Key Cast
    "self"
  • Geneva Seaboy
    Key Cast
    "self"
  • David Leach
    Key Cast
    "self"
  • Rosemary WhiteWater
    Key Cast
    "self"
  • Janice Ochoa
    Key Cast
    "self"
  • Nakoa Heavy Runner
    Music
    Wolf Point: Red Road Stories
  • Liz Irons
    editing
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 17 minutes 33 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 2, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Sony 4k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • American Indian Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    November 4, 2022
    Premiere
Director Biography - Liz Irons

Liz Irons is a Los Angeles based director, editor, and musician. 2022's Indianland is Irons' second time directing a feature-length doc. The first, Wolf Point: Red Road Stories, which she edited and co-directed, was an Official Selection of the American Indian Film Festival in 2016.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

We need an explanation and examination of the actions taken by government, by the world’s major religions - over hundreds of years – leading us to the 20th century, where in the “land of the free” the U.S. will not only intern (or incarcerate) its own Japanese American citizens, but also introduce the official policy of “Indian Termination.” In attempting to encourage “assimilation,” young American Indians are relocated to major metropolitan areas, lured by jobs and education, with a promise of government support, once there. The government expects this trend will eventually squeeze the Native out of each and every American Indian. But when they get there, these young people are actually informed by one another. They share their stories. They feel more Native, not less. They band together, with common cause... and a new era of activism and identification begins for Native people in America. In other words, the Termination plan begins to unravel.
And at Alcatraz, many individual Indigenous Americans are set on their own particular personal paths, creating lives that afford influence and positive awareness, and even real change. Some of the players are more visible than others. And the “struggle” is far from over.