Celebrating the 40th annual Women and Gender Studies Film Festival

Oakland University's Women and Gender Studies program celebrates 40 years of featuring diverse voices through feature films. Join WGS in viewing “Warrior Women” this year at the Oakland Center in Gold Rooms B and C on November 15 at 4 pm. The film fest is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

“Warrior Women” is the story of mothers and daughters fighting for Native rights in the American Indian Movement (AIM). In the 1970s, organizers of AIM fought for Native educational rights, and “Warrior Women” follows the story of AIM Leader Madonna Thunder Hawk, highlighting her activism and her influence in the next generations of activism. The film unveils not only a female perspective of history, but also examines the impact political struggles have on the children who bear witness.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion, focusing on Native American activism in Michigan and beyond.

“Our goals for the festival are to increase the visibility of the WGS program on campus and to connect the campus community to issues related to feminism and identity in a range of ways,” WGS Assistant Director Erin Meyers said.

The WGS Film Festival traditionally couples the screening with a timely activism theme, ranging from the queer comedy scene to women’s rights to drag culture and to female-led Native activism. This year combines the history of WGS as one of the longest running annual events and Native American Heritage Month.

This year’s WGS Film Festival is also supported by the College of Arts and Sciences; Creative Writing; Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations; English; Film Studies and Production; History; Management and Marketing; Native American Advisory Committee; Philosophy; Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice; and Women in Film and WXOU.