Wiping The Tears of Seven Generations | The Peyote Road | The Red Road To Sobriety | Red Road Video Talking Circle | Your Humble Serpent | A Seat At The Table
“For the first time in film, the true story of The Wounded Knee Massacre...First of it’s genre to record - not rewrite - history from the Lakota perspective”.
LAKOTA TIMES
“More than film - it is history as it unfolds... Shows an inherent
strength in tribal people not even they suspected... Generations from now people
will marvel at the Bigfoot Ride and see that it was a critical pivot in the story
of American Indians. Thank God we have it on film”.
PROF. VINE DELORIA Jr.
The principal of Kifaru Productions is Irene Romero (CEO / Producer). Kifaru Productions is well known for their award winning documentaries on contemporary Native American Issues including “Wiping The Tears Of Seven Generations,” “The Peyote Road,” “The Red Road To Sobriety,” "Your Humble Serpent" and the most recent “A SEAT AT THE TABLE; Struggling For American Indian Religious Freedom.” Working under the banner of DreamCatchers, their 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of indigenous cultures and sacred lands, Gary and Irene have facilitated the creation of unique public service media projects such as “RezRobics” an aerobics video series for Indian Communities and “First People’s TV”, the first regularly scheduled, U.S. nationally broadcast TV series concerning contemporary Native people broadcast on Link TV.
In 1990, we were approached by representatives of the Lakota people, who asked us to produce a documentary about "The Bigfoot Memorial Ride". This ride was an effort to end seven generations of the Lakota people's mourning, over the lives lost at The Wounded Knee Massacre. Although cold and difficult, this journey was a celebration, of the resurgence of Lakota culture and spirituality. The result was our first program, WIPING THE TEARS OF SEVEN GENERATIONS.
In 1992, Kifaru Productions joined forces with the respected Winnebago leader, Reuben A. Snake, Jr. and his “Native American Religious Freedom Project”. Our collaboration was designed to counter the infamous “Smith Decision”, in which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to give First Amendment protection of religious liberty to the 250,000 members of The Native American Church. Mr. Snake’s vision was to create a program to represent these humble and respectful people. The resulting program, THE PEYOTE ROAD: Ancient Religion in Contemporary Crisis played an important role in the successful passage of the 1994 amendment to "The American Indian Religious Freedom Act".
In our travels through “Indian Country”, we witnessed the growth of “The Contemporary Native American Sobriety Movement”. This vibrant social movement is being led by Indian people in many walks of life including tribal government leaders, health care specialists and traditional medicine people. Their successful use of ancient traditions in the substance abuse recovery process inspired us to document this historical movement. THE RED ROAD TO SOBRIETY and its companion program which is entitled THE RED ROAD TO SOBRIETY VIDEO TALKING CIRCLE are the result.
In 1993, the inter-tribal Native American community lost a great leader when Reuben A. Snake, Jr. (Winnebago) passed away from complications of diabetes. Reuben’s life had been a great example of what a contemporary Indian leader could be; Green Beret, Tribal Chairman, President of The National Congress Of American Indians, founder of countless Indigenous advocacy organizations and a highly respected Native American Church Roadman. In 1996, we produced the feature documentary, Your Humble Serpent; The Wisdom Of Reuben Snake., to bring Reuben’s messages of ecology, sacredness, sobriety and intuitive thinking to the youth of “Indian Country”, as well as to offer his life as a role model. The program received an array of appreciative responses and is now used in course curriculum in many Indian schools across the country.
In 1997, Kifaru Productions Producers Gary Rhine and Irene Romero-Rhine assisted the creation of a dramatic feature. Quechua filmmaker, Peter Bratt’s Follow Me Home, is the saga of four urban muralists dealing with issues of race and healing. The film was chosen one of seventeen from a field of 700 entries for dramatic competition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It also received the audience award for Best Feature Film at The San Francisco International Film Festival and garnered rave reviews in The New York Times and Roger Ebert’s column in the Chicago Sun Times.