Independent Lens
Ratified
Ratified brings to life the push to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution through the legal battle in Virginia—the final state needed to ratify the amendment.
Sun River Homestead
The neglected story of Esther Strasburger, a single, woman homesteader in 1909 Montana, is juxtaposed with that of Strasburger's great-granddaughter who is still inextricably tied to the land today.
- Premiere Date
- May 2, 2002
- Length
- 30 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Open Call
Producer
Margaret Carey
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The Film
With the lure of land ownership, the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged over 600,000 people to migrate West. Among its new inhabitants were Esther Strasburger and her two sisters who settled in Simms, Montana in 1909. These women accepted the challenges of homesteading and staked a claim to the West for generations to come.
