*NEWS May 12, 2008*  The Documentary Channel will premier Saving The American Wild Horse
on June 1st, 2008.

The Spirit Riders Foundation and the documentary film Spirit Riders
are seeking donations to support the listed Lakota Youth education programs.
Before the Spirit Riders Trilogy can be released
we must cover production costs and expenses.
We appreciate your generous support for these causes.

Spirit Riders Spirit Riders is an international award winning documentary film about the birth of an American Indian peace movement, begun in 1990 by the Lakota Nation and its growth over the subsequent years.

From the stunning images of wilderness landscapes to the dramatic footage of peace and unity horseback rides, this film is a visual delight. With narration by Peter Coyote, interviews with ride-participant Viggo Mortensen (Lord Of The Rings & Hidalgo) and an eclectic soundtrack featuring American Indian Grammy winner Bill Miller, Robert Mirabal, Keith Secola, Rick Allen, Lauren Monroe. Spirit Riders not only entertains, but leads the audience on a profound journey inside a culture and a movement offering ancient traditional visions of peace to a troubled modern world.

Many respected members of the Lakota community, including descendents of Sitting Bull and Black Elk are featured in the film, both as participants in the rides and as social/cultural commentators. Charlotte Black Elk, Alex Whiteplume, Birgil Killstraight, Ron His Horse Is Thunder, Russell Means and Mel Lonehill all make appearances in the film.

Ron His Horse is Thunder escorting Lakota Youth into Wounded Knee. December 28th 2000
Ron is a descendent of Sitting Bull and president of Sitting Bull Tribal College

The film introduces us to the Lakota Indian tradition of ceremonial horseback rides and how in the last fifteen years these rides have become a source of inspiration for the Lakota people and a medium for a worldwide message of peace. We explore the annual Peace And Unity rides which each year are conducted to a different sacred site on the summer solstice. On that day, June 21st, a ceremony is held for peace among all people of the world and harmony with the environment. The film shows how this vision is coming to pass as the movement, which started as a purely local event, has since led to annual ceremonies not only in Central America but as far away as Ireland, Australia and South Africa.

Other Films in the Trilogy

Peta Yuha Mani - He Who Keeps The Fire
The Viggo Mortensen Interview

The Ride To Little Big Horn

Join the Lakota Future Generation Riders as they follow the path Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and other great warriors took on their way to the Greasy Grass. On June 25th, 128 years to the date, the riders charge the Little Big Horn where General Custer made a fatal last stand. Lakota elders like Mel Lonehill share their ancient knowledge of this historic event and re-enact the actual event from a Lakota perspective.

Coming Soon on DVD!

WILD HORSE SPIRIT

“WILD HORSE SPIRIT” is a short film featuring Viggo Mortensen.

This documentary presents a brief history of "The Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act", and a current update exposing the recently passed "Burns Bill" which gutted the protection these animals were granted in 1971 when the "Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act" was unanimously passed by Congress as a result of American citizens sending more letters to Congress over the threats to these wild animals than over any other domestic issue in U.S. History.

In November 2004, without a hearing or an opportunity for public review, Senator Conrad Burns from Montana slipped a rider into the 2005 federal Appropriations Bill. "The Burns Bill" essentially legislates the slaughter of wild horses and burros, America’s national treasures Congress deemed,

"Living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West…who enrich the lives of the American people and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.”

The “Burns Bill” was signed by President Bush and passed into law on December 8th, 2004. Enlightening the historical perspective offered by Viggo Mortensen, filmmaker James Kleinert provides stunning footage of these animals in the wild, followed by footage of the Bureau of Land Management rounding up wild horses as part of their current systematic removal policy.

This is a short film that both educates and moves audiences to take immediate action to save America's Wild Horses, with an amazing sound track created by Rick Allen (drummer of Def Leppard) and Lauren Monroe, singer, songwriter. A must see film for people of conscience.

All profits from the film Spirit Riders will go towards Lakota Youth Educational Programs.