Our traditional EFF Opening Ceremony will take place in the State Theater on Thursday, March 13th at 7PM. We will kick off with a performance from Waabani Noodin Drum, remarks from Indigenous cultural leaders & representatives from Ely Film Festival and Ely’s Historic State Theater, followed by a showing of the regional documentary film Electric Indian. Filmmaker Leya Hale will be in attendance!
Synopsis: A documentary from filmmaker Leya Hale, The Electric Indian follows Ojibwe hockey legend, Henry Boucha. A stand-out hockey star from Warroad, Minnesota, Boucha impressed on the ice from the 1969 Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament to the 1972 Olympics to the NHL, but an on-ice assault and injury ended his athletic career that unexpectedly led to a journey of healing and cultural reclamation.
Director Bio: Leya Hale comes from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Diné Nations. She is a multiple regional Emmy award winning documentary producer for Twin Cities PBS. Her work brings visibility to Indigenous lifeways and issues impacting her community. She is best known for her feature films, The People’s Protectors and Bring Her Home, both distributed by PBS. In 2020, Leya was awarded the Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellowship for Indigenous Artists and Bring Her Home was selected to represent the US at INPUT 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. When not producing features, Leya works on a variety of short form content in efforts to highlight underrepresented stories within the upper Midwest region.
Director Statement: “Han Mitakuye (Hello Relative), My name is Leya Hale, and I come from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Diné Nations. I grew up with a passion for dancing (Powwows) and playing sports throughout my life, which has helped nourish my body, mind, and spirit. I am grateful to be able to pass that passion on to my children.
As an Indigenous person, I believe in the power of movement and see it as medicine embedded within our tribal belief systems. It lives and thrives within our traditional dances, harvests, races, and even our ball games. This power of movement and its teachings of respect and humility has crossed over into modern day sports that Indigenous people participate in.
As a Dakota and Diné storyteller, I am blessed to receive opportunities to produce work that aligns with my core values. For the past decade, I have worked as a documentary film producer for Twin Cities PBS. In 2018, I was asked by Mr. Henry Boucha (a former National Hockey League Player, a U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist, and member of the Ojibwe Nation) if I could help him produce the first documentary in his Native American Olympian Film Series project. The first film would feature Henry’s life and outstanding hockey career. I was truly honored as I accepted Henry’s traditional tobacco (a traditional/spiritual offering when asking for another’s help).
Five years later, our Twin Cities PBS production team and funders – Minnesota Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, Vision Maker Media, and the Manitou Foundation – are proud to present The Electric Indian, a one-hour documentary that follows the hockey legend Henry Boucha from his journey of early stardom, to crushing defeat, and on to healing.
Not only did Henry exemplify the power of movement through his love of playing hockey, but he demonstrated many other positive characteristics of sport which includes comradeship, respect, humility, and giving back to one’s community. It has been a great privilege to help share Henry’s story.
Pidamayaye/Miigwech to Henry, the Boucha family, and the Warroad community for entrusting me to tell this important uplifting story to ignite the power of movement within all of us.”
Leya Hale (Dakota/Diné)
