Santa Fe Film Festival 2009

The story of the Native American people of the US is marked by a legacy of destruction and decline.For the last two centuries, the western tribes have been re-settled to isolated reservations with little opportunity to exercise their traditions or express their heritage. But one tribe, the Arapaho of Wyoming, is determined to reclaim their heritage and restore their fast-disappearing language as a way to heal their nation.In her film Voices of the Heart, director Amie Williams follows Native American Tish Keahna as she returns to the Wind River reservation after thirty years to see the impact, that a language immersion school is having and to reflect on how life has changed.