Bad River

media release: The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is offering a free screening of Bad River: A Story of Defiance (2024) on Monday, Nov. 18, from 6–8:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Shannon Hall.

The event is free and open to the public, though advance registration is recommended as space is limited.

Bad River is a new documentary that follows Wisconsin’s Bad River Band on their continuous fight for sovereignty. Written and directed by Mary Mazzio, the film is narrated by Indigenous model and activist Quannah Chasinghorse and Academy Award nominee Edward Norton.

Following the screening, audience members will hear from some of the voices featured in the film through a moderated Q & A. Panelists include:

• Aurora Conley, vice chair of the Anishinaabe Environmental Protection Alliance
• Misty Jackson, American Indian Science & Engineering Society coordinator, Madison Metropolitan School District
• Patty Loew, professor emerita at UW–Madison and Northwestern University, retired inaugural director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University.

Bad River: A Story of Defiance is being presented through the Nelson Institute’s Tales from Planet Earth film series, which shares films that feature scholars and community organizations who advocate for environmental and social justice. The event is also a proud part of UW–Madison’s Native November programming.

Event partners include the Wisconsin Union, the Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee, and the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center, Morgridge Center for Public Service, Native American Center for Health Professionals, and Water@UW–Madison.

For more information and to register, visit nelson.wisc.edu/bad-river.