In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, Western Washington University’s Film and Media Studies will screen “Missing from Fire Trail Road” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. The screening takes place in room 201 of Fraser Hall (516 High St.) and is free and open to the public. Director Sabrina Van Tassel will be in attendance.
“Missing from Fire Trail Road” traces the life story of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, an Indigenous woman who disappeared from the Tulalip reservation in November 2020. Four years later, her family continues to search for her.
The documentary includes interviews with Indigenous leader Deborah Parker and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Deb Haaland, as well as perspectives from dozens of Indigenous women. Their voices contextualize Davis’ story within larger intergenerational traumas faced by Indigenous communities.
Davis is one among more than 1.5 million Native women who have experienced violence in their lifetime according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. By tracing her story, Van Tassell highlights the issue of ongoing unsolved cases throughout the U.S., as well as the disproportionate rates of violence against Native women.
After a run at at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, “Missing from Fire Trail Road” premiered Sunday, Nov. 9 at the Orca Ballroom in the Tulalip Resort Casino. It will also show at a sold-out Nov. 14 screening at the Pickford Film Center, co-presented by Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival.
Info: news.wwu.edu.
Cocoa Laney is CDN’s lifestyle editor; reach her at cocoalaney@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 128.
