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Native America Calling: Roller derby skaters don’t let anyone push them around
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Roller derby skaters don’t let anyone push them around
Indigenous women skaters shove and elbow their way around the oval roller derby track — and along the way they are finding sisterhood and a sense of pride.
Clad in helmets and knee and elbow pads, they take full-contact laps around the track that also serves as an arena for visibility and representation. The international team Indigenous Rising is a ground-breaking pack made up of skaters from dozens of tribes who otherwise compete on local teams.
The “Rising Through the Fray” documentary follows the team’s journey and the personal passions and sacrifice individual players put into this unique and fast-paced sport.
YouTube Guests on Native America Calling
Kristina “Krispy” Glass (Cherokee), coach and manager for Indigenous Rising Roller Derby
Sherry “Sour Cherry” Bontkes (Saulteaux Ojibwe from the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba), roller derby player
Angelene “Niketah” Ketah (Tlingit), roller derby player
Kapulani “Hawaiian Blaze” Patterson (Kanaka Maoli)
Courtney Montour (Kanien’kehá:ka), filmmaker, writer, and director of “Rising Through the Fray”
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