Fire in the Belly Productions will talk to Native families across the US/Alaska about their missing sisters, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, nieces and cousins.  Examine the early history of violence against Native women leading up to the devastating 1978 Supreme Court Oliphant ruling that stripped Tribal Nations from the right to prosecute non-natives who commit crimes on their reservations. Follow the resilient Native women who are fighting for justice for their stolen sisters: the prayer warriors, marchers, families, and policymakers.

"Indian country is fortunate that Melinda Janko has developed an interest in this issue and plans to do a documentary film about it.  She has the experience and ability to make a great film about missing and murdered Indigenous women and I recommend her to you."
John E. Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund

Melinda is the President of Fire in the Belly Productions, Inc., a company whose mission is to “make films that make a difference,” She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who made her Directorial Debut in 2016, with the release of 100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice, about the legendary Blackfeet activist, Elouise Cobell. Melinda spent two years, building relationships of trust with Native Americans and obtaining unprecedented access to Senators, Congressmen, the federal judge, the Department of the Interior, and many more to tell this story about the Cobell lawsuit that was 14 years in the courts.

NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:
In 2003, I formed Fire in the Belly Productions, with a goal of “making films that make a difference.” Shortly afer, I read an article in Mother Jones Magazine about Blackfeet Warrior, Elouise Cobell’s historic fight for justice for 300,000 Native families whose
mineral rich lands, were grossly mismanaged by the U.S. Government. They were land rich but dirt poor. I asked the question, where is the justice and why isn't this front page news? Enraged by it all, I spent 14 years bringing Elouise’s Cobell's story to the world in the film 100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice. In 2016 the film was released, and won multiple awards. It had a broadcast premiere on the PBS series, America ReFramed and streamed for two years on Netflix. 100 Years is now taught in public schools in 25 states, and over 200 colleges and universities, in the U.S., Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.  
Naturally, when I read about the silent crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, I was alarmed, and asked the same question; where is the justice, where are the press? Women are Sacred is a documentary film series that investigates this crisis with a goal to educate the public, create change and make a difference!
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