The subject the class chose for the film the American Indian Women s Service League is primarily a story of women wanting to improve the image of the American Indian community. Pearl Warren and other founders of the League were instrumental in the development of local organizations for Native Americans, from the Seattle Indian Center to United Indians of All Tribes. The League began just after World War II, very organically, as a way to support urban Indian families in the city, explains Hart. Women would wait in front of the Greyhound station to greet Indian families getting off the bus and looking lost. They wanted the new arrivals to know that there were other Indian families here.
Powers likes the idea of a film that highlights the work of American Indian women.
I think Indian women are very powerful, she says. They ve been the backbone of the tribes traditionally and now continue to take on that role. Yet nobody tells their story their pain and their joys and successes. Nobody hears about all their accomplishments. The film has involved numerous interviews with League volunteers and the families of the League s founders.