The film crew working on the documentary film Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi made two visits to Lakota Country this June and came away with what they called outstanding results. In their first visit, they recorded scenes and interviews with participating families and staff at the Sitting Bull College Language Immersion Nest. The personal stories of those creating and sustaining the Nest have become central to the film as it is taking shape under the direction of Lawrence Hott, principal of Florentine Films/Hott Productions.  

The second shoot took place at Makoché Studios in Bismarck, as the LLC staff team and fluent Lakota speakers recorded thousands of Lakota words for the New Lakota Dictionary-Online’s audio project.  These two production weeks were supported by grants from the Administration for Native Americans, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Vision Maker Media (formerly Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc.).

There is more great news afoot for Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi!  Our application to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a large production grant was successful!  The whole production is now close to being fully funded, and the film’s future for public television broadcast and availability to a worldwide audience is much brighter. There is much more to come for Rising Voices/ Hótȟaŋiŋpi.  Watch these newsletters for further updates.