We are so thankful for everyone who has supported Why We Dance. In April we had our US premiere and screened the film 5 times in 3 festivals to sold out theaters and hosted performances, panels, Q&A’s and created space for Indigenous vendors to share goods.
Our intention with this film is to not only continue our festival tour, but to carry out our impact plan to share these stories and education with schools, reservations and communities across the world. If you would like to support our impact plan or partner on a screening event reach out to our team on our website in our bio.
Photos by @shotbyhaadiya and @itsdrw
"Stories that belong on the land they came from."
That's what the Northern Plains Indigenous Film Festival is all about.
The inaugural festival received over 70 filmmaker submissions.
Screenings featured documentaries and shorts; experimental works and narrative features.
ICYMI: They're planning to return for year two!
Learn more about the festival in our link in bio.
With overflowing theaters and more requests coming in, @mspfilmsociety added another screening for @whywedance_doc for today April 19 at 4:45 PM. All those who want to share what you experienced, witnessed, heard with your mothers, sisters, friends and family members to watch. Let them know there is an additional screening today, April 19 at 4:45 PM. Tickets are in my Bio!
See y’all there!
Really not a bad way to spend my birthday seeing some Indigenous excellence on the silver screen directed by @oogie_push at the MSP International Film Festival. @whywedance_doc is stunning and a must see! And @kramarczuks never disappoints.
Due to popular demand we’ve added two encore screenings of your festival favorites!
WHY WE DANCE
Sunday, April 19 • 4:45pm at The Main Cinema
World Premiere
Director Oogie_Push and Special Guests Attending!
THE CHRISTOPHERS
Sunday, April 19 • 4:50pm at The Main Cinema
Director Steven Soderbergh’s latest
Tickets are available at mspiff.org
So some HARD truth.. 😔
Within the past month, Hawai'i endured the Kona Low Storm(s). Within our family, we were forced to move 3 times and evacuate with our parents twice as recent as last thursday. Life still pressed on & we did our best to extend our hand & serve others, while maintaining our careers and kuleana.
We were brought to tears, when our family almost 4,000 miles away decided they wanted to love on us and help us not only stay afloat.. but THRIVE. 🥹❤️
Mahalo piha to our KALPULLI YAOCENOXTLI ohana of @indigeroots for opening up a venue to not only bless our family, but those WE believe need it more than we do in Hawai'i. We are also attending the @whywedance_doc film premiere in St. Paul, where 2 years ago equipped us to share a bit of our cultural identity. Although this past season may have been hard for a lot of Hawai'i and our family.. we have hope that there are good people out there that are ready to catch us when we fall. We are grateful and will be sharing more of who we are as Kanaka Maoli and the HARD TRUTHS of our resilience in Hawai'i. 🥹 We'll see you soon! #aloha #ohana #grateful
UPDATE: WHY WE DANCE, MEDICINE BALL, & THE BOOM ARE SOLD OUT FOR SATURDAY! You're welcome to join us for any of the other events on Saturday.
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Saturday will be here before we know it.
I'm excited to be on the Indigenous Storytelling Roundtable with my friends at 12:30pm.
Looks like there's a few more tickets available for Why We Dance. Get yours right now, like right now, right now!
Medicine Ball is sold out and The Boom is sold out.
You might be able to get a rush ticket day of if someone doesn't show up. But who knows. 🤷🏽♀️
Join us for Meskwaki Tacos sold by Bear's Den from the Meskwaki Settlement, Iowa and then dance it off at the After Party!
It's the last weekend of MSPIFF45.
It's been an absolute pleasure and an honor to be included.
Please join us however, wherever, whenever you can.
See ya there!
OMG I actually fan-girled at #MSPIFF45 today. We were there for the Shorts Block that The Boom was in ( and it was the World Premiere!) Nick Peet here had Mad Island in the same block. He mentioned he worked on Grimm during the Q&A so I caught him in the lobby. I was all, "I LOVE GRIMM! What did you do on Grimm?!" He worked as a Writer's Assistant and then wrote the Frankenstein episode "The Son Also Rises."
I been trying to find people who worked on Grimm so I can nerd out about it but most people I talk to never heard of it. I told him Char and I went to Portland one time and stayed at Lion & The Rose which was The Bramble House in Season 1 Episode 4. He was happy to meet a fan.
Yeah, we had the world premiere of The Boom but I (finally!!) met somebody who worked on Grimm!! 🤩 🥰 😂
*CONGRATULATIONS ON A SOLD OUT PREMIERE! Check out the Link in our Bio for tickets to the next Film viewing! With deep aloha and respect, Ka Makani Kāʻili Koa celebrates the premiere of Why We Dance.
Rooted in the 1923 ban on Indigenous dance and the Meskwaki response through gathering, this film reminds us that culture has never been passive—it has always been a form of resistance, continuity, and sovereignty. When we dance, we are not performing—we are remembering, teaching, and carrying our ancestors forward.
We honor Director Oogie Push; Producer & Cultural Lead Jerod Pushetonequa; Producer Bhavana Goparaju; Editor Ryan Christopher McGuire; Producer/Cinematographer Ryan Stopera; and Composer Gunner Jules for shaping this powerful work.
We uplift the cast and cultural voices: Canku One Star, Oogie Push, Pualeilani Paiea Kamahoahoa, Loa Miles Simoes, Sergio Nochtzin Quiroz, and Mary Anne Ligeralde Quiroz—each carrying ʻike, story, and community across generations and homelands.
From the powwow circle to Hawaiʻi, and in the spirit of Merrie Monarch, we are reminded that dance is genealogy in motion—kuleana, ceremony, and life.
May this film travel far, deepen understanding, and stand as a testament to Indigenous resilience.
When we dance—
we remember, we resist, we renew, we continue.
E ola ka hula. E ola ka mele. E ola ka moʻomeheu ʻōiwi.
#WhyWeDance #IndigenousStorytelling #CulturalContinuity #TraditionIsResistance #kamakanikailikoa
Why We Dance US premiere is this Sunday April 12th at 7pm featuring a live performance by Canku Onestar
Get your tickets before they sell out in the link in our bio
