NOW PLAYING: WINDWALKER!!!

The "Year Of" film and discussion series begins today with the 1981 film Windwalker from director Kieth Merrill.

Windwalker is an unusual Western for its time. It's not a "cowboys and Indians" story (you won't find a single cowboy). It's a deeply spiritual tale about an aging Cheyenne warrior at the time of his death. Windwalker is haunted by the slaughter of his wife and the kidnapping of his son by the rival Crow. On his deathbed, he is given another chance. He must return to solve the mystery of his missing son so that he can find peace in the afterlife.

Ten years after its initial release, Windwalker was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. Director Merrill won an Academy Award in 1974 for his documentary The Great American Cowboy and was nominated for an Emmy in 1993 for his work on the miniseries The Wild West.

Windwalker will be shown today at 2 pm in the theater at the Funk Heritage Center on campus. Library director and Year of North American Indigenous People chairman Michael Martinez will be leading discussion prior to and after the film.