Instagram story viewer> @indigenousrisingrollerderby> Posts

IndigenousRisingRollerDerby

@indigenousrisingrollerderby

11.9K

followers

717

following

Uniting Indigenous roller derby athletes, representing Turtle Island & Polynesia.
Sponsors @seminole.tribe.of.florida @associndianaffairs @hitsquadtv

POSTS STORIES REELS

We are very excited to finally share the trailer for 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘆.
A film by Courtney Montour, produced by Nish Media.

In this feature documentary, Team Indigenous Rising skates to claim their space on the roller derby track as the first borderless team in the sport.

Stay tuned for news about upcoming screenings!
Canada Media Fund / @cmf.fmc
Telefilm Canada / @telefilm_canada
CBC Docs / @cbcdocs
Nish Média / @nish_media
Courtney Montour / @courtneymontour
@7thscreen
Indigenous Rising Roller Derby / @indigenousrisingrollerderby

#IndigenousRising #IndigenousAthletes #RollerDerby #WeAreStillHere by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

Today we acknowledge “Orange Shirt Day” as a day of remembrance, awareness, and action. We honor the children who never returned home from residential schools, the Survivors, and the families and communities who continue to carry their stories.

We wear orange to remember that every child matters — yesterday, today, and always.

🧡 Join us in our community: wear orange, learn from Indigenous voices, share what you learn, support Indigenous-led initiatives, and create space for conversations about truth and reconciliation.

Together, we can remember, educate, listen, and take meaningful action — because reconciliation is something we build together, as a community.

#OrangeShirtDay #EveryChildMatters #IndigenousRisingRollerDerby #TruthAndReconciliation #OrangeShirtDay2026 by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

NEW Clacker Fans have arrived and are up on the website. The sound is soooooo satisfying. 💅🥲
Get yours by visiting our webpage!
teamindigenous.org/products/grande-clacker-fan by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

🎉 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎉
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘆 has been officially selected for the 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹!
Screening October 12th at 4:45pm in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
🎤 The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour.

🎟️ See link for more details and tickets 🎟️
https://hsdff2026.eventive.org/Film_Guides/6a97816323da9f56ef0dcc68

Canada Media Fund / @cmf.fmc
Telefilm Canada / @telefilm_canada
CBC Docs / @cbcdocs
Nish Média @nish_media
Courtney Montour / @courtneymontour
Indigenous Rising Roller Derby / @indigenousrisingrollerderby
Indigenous Screen Office / @indigenousscreen
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival / @hsdff by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

Nawáh! Hi! My name is Alissa or known as Bash-Her in the derby community! I am Arikara part of MHA nation the 3 affiliated tribes in North Dakota! I grew up visiting my grandpa where he would tell us many stories and share traditions. We come from horse warriors and hunters. I live in Michigan due to the Indian welfare act (forced adoption) of my grandpa when he was younger. But Michigan is a beautiful state and there are many tribes here!
I’ve been playing roller derby for about 9 years,I started playing for Kalamazoo Killer Beez Jr derby! Once I aged out I went on to play for the Kalamazoo Roller Derby adult teams and have been captain for 2 seasons since I’ve joined! I also coach our jr team and the adult team! I spend my free time playing derby/skating, fishing, kayaking, hiking, bead work and working on cars!
I currently am going to KVCC (Kalamazoo valley community college) for automotive and HVAC and I’m so close to getting my certifications! I’m also taking online classes to learn Sahnish, my tribes language.
I’m deeply grateful for this new opportunity Indigenous Rising has given me! Stoodis! by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

Kwe, my is Shawna and my roller derby name is Showoff ( you will have to come see me play to find out if its true or not 😉) I am Mi’kmaq nation from the community of Gesgapegiag ( on the east coast of Quebec). I am from a community of fishers and black ask basket makers. I love going back home to see my family and to practice my traditions. I live a 9hr drive away right now so its a little hard to just get up and go. I am slowly reconnecting to the Mi’kmaq language. My dad, uncles, and grandma speak the language but it was never passed down to me when i was younger so i try to learn and pick up as much knowledge as I can when I am in my community.
As for Roller Derby, I started playing in 2019 not long after I learned about the sport. I played hockey my whole life and was the youngest of 5 so this sport was right up my alley. Some may even have called me a ‘Showoff’ when i first started 😉 I currently play for Roller Derby Sherbrooke and love the community we have. And now I am so thankful to be a part of Team Indigenous Rising and have this new community with lots of shared histories and stories, but also a lot of beautiful uniqueness. I can’t wait to skate with everyone ❤️ by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

Hi! I’m Sassy Sam and I am Navajo with a smidgen of Ute as well. Although I live so far from my native tribal lands, I grew up visiting my grandparents in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and attending Anishinnabe events with my Grandma. My Grandma used to work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and set up many tribal health clinics across the country. Every chance she could she would bring us to different Soo and Bay Mills tribal events to help us learn about our local heritage as well as telling us many stories about her family history.

I started derby at seven years old with our local Jr team the North Country Bruisers and just recently aged out and joined Marquette Roller Derby. I’ve been skating with Marquette Roller Derby for almost a year now and was with The North Country Bruisers for 11 years. This year I am looking forward to getting to help coach the junior team. My teammates and coaches have been an incredible inspiration to me along my sports journey and I can’t wait to meet more amazing people along they way.

I am currently a Sophomore attending Northern Michigan University for my Bachelor’s in Elementry Music Education. Outside of classes I am on the the Vice Presidend for our local chapter of the National Association for Music Education. I also play the violin and have been volunteering with the Marquette County String Orchestra Society. I love helping people find peace in music.

I also want to give a huge shout out to my parents! Without their love and support I would have never had the confidence to pursue the things I love. by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

My name is Jenna, or Memengwaa (Little Butterfly), named by my grandfather for being a late summer baby. I am Bodéwadmi and Odawa (Potawatomi and Ottawa), 2 of the 3 fires nations, also including Ojibwe. I am mgizi clan (eagle clan) as well as a member of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi from SW Michigan. My family heritage has deep roots with the black ash tree, native to the wetlands and low, wet woodlands of eastern Canada and the northeastern and north-central United States. For generations, we have harvested the black ash and woven baskets from the splints we pounded ourselves, knowledge passed down from generation to generation. From the family of White Pigeon / Pigeon and a descendant of Chief Wahbememe (White Pigeon), I have strived to learn bodwéwadmimwen, my ancestral language. I have earned an associate’s degree and license as a registered nurse and currently work as a hospice nurse. I have goals to serve the elders in my community as well as the next seven generations as is our Anishnaabek tradition. I enjoy photography, hiking, kayaking, cooking, and spending time with relatives in blood and spirit. I have learned to skate with the help of my teammates on Kalamazoo Roller Derby and have played roller derby on and off since 2022 and just rostered for Kalamazoo as of January this year. Super stoked and honored to skate with Indigenous Rising and represent my people! by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

This August we’ve welcomed new skaters to our family of whom we’ll be introducing this week..
Today we are Happy to introduce Merciless Savage.

Merciless Savage is a Northern Arapaho from the Wind River Reservation, with ties to Pawnee, Cherokee, Euchee, and Dine tribes. She currently serves as Assistant Curator of the Native Collection at History Colorado Center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Political Science, and Native American & Indigenous Studies; a Master of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies from the University of Wyoming; and a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples’ Law from the University of Oklahoma. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Anthropology and Social Change, with research focused on Indigenous sovereignty, community wellness, and justice.
Merciless Savage serves as the Tribal Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) for the Northern Arapaho Tribe, where she works with families, tribal leadership, and state and federal partners to advance prevention, policy, and accountability efforts. She also serves on the Wyoming Women’s Foundation Advisory Board and the Wyoming State Preservation Board, contributing her expertise in Indigenous history, cultural preservation, and community-centered policy.
In addition to her professional and academic work, she is a woman rough stock rider and one of the few Native women competing in rough stock rodeo. As an Indigenous woman in a traditionally male-dominated arena, she is committed to representing Native women in rodeo and creating greater visibility for Indigenous athletes. She has also been involved in roller derby for a little over two years. She began skating with Naughty Pines Roller Derby and recently made the move to Denver Roller Derby earlier this year! by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

You a Jam Lie! #youajamlie #lobsterlowdown #beastmode #stay stiff by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

The kids said I aura formed 🤷🏾‍♀️🤣 I guess that means I’m cool? lol Vegas shinanigans continued. #beastmode #lobsterlowdown #youajamlie #staystiff by @indigenousrisingrollerderby

🎉 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎉
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘆 has been officially selected for 36th edition of the 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿é𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲!
Screening on August 5th at 6:30pm, the film will be presented in original English language with French subtitles.

🎤 Screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Courtney Montour

🎟️ See link for more details and tickets 🎟️
https://presenceautochtone.ca/programmation/rising-through-the-fray/

Canada Media Fund / @cmf.fmc
Telefilm Canada / @telefilm_canada
CBC Docs / @cbcdocs
Nish Média / @nish_media
Courtney Montour / @courtneymontour
Indigenous Rising Roller Derby / @teamindigenousrollerderby
Indigenous Screen Office / @indigenousscreen
Présence autochtone / First Peoples Festival / @presenceautochtone by @indigenousrisingrollerderby