POV
The Education of Shelby Knox
When Shelby Knox joins a campaign for better sex education in high schools, she begins to question her deeply conservative Southern Baptist upbringing.
Young Lakota
When South Dakota abortion politics bring political turmoil to the doorstep on the Pine Ridge Reservation, three young idealists and the tribe's first female president have to decide how far they will go to change politics as usual in their own community.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- November 25, 2013
- Length
- 60 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Open Call
Co-Director / Co-Producer
Marion Lipschutz
Marion Lipschutz is a producer, director and writer. After meeting Rose Rosenblatt while working on The Human Language, a series about linguistics, she and Rose formed Incite Pictures and Cine Qua Non, a not-for-profit. With Rose, Marion has co-directed The Abortion Pill, about the controversy over the French drug RU 486; Fatherhood USA, a PBS… Show more
- Other ITVS Films
- The Education of Shelby Knox
Co-Director / Co-Producer
Rose Rosenblatt
Rose Rosenblatt wears multiple hats as a producer, director, and editor. In 1991, she formed Incite Pictures/Cine Qua Non with Marion Lipschutz and together they have produced long format documentaries on social and cultural issues. Projects include: The Education of Shelby Knox— Sundance FF (Best Cinematography), SXSW (Audience Award), Full Frame,… Show more
- Other ITVS Films
- The Education of Shelby Knox
We fund untold stories for public media.
Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS.
The Film
In a small town in the heart of the Pine Ridge Reservation, Sunny Clifford, her twin sister Serena, and their neighbor, Brandon Ferguson, share a common dream of helping to create a better future for their tribe. When South Dakota passes a law criminalizing abortion, their tribal President, Cecelia Fire Thunder, challenges it with a threat to build a clinic on the reservation, drawing Sunny, Serena, and Brandon into a political storm that changes the course of each of their lives.
Sunny Clifford works as a clerk at the Kyle grocery store, living in "the housing" in Kyle, population with her twin sister, Serena. The twins — who have dropped out of college — dream of finding a way to help make things better on the reservation, but they don't really know where to start. Their idealism is shared by Brandon Ferguson, their neighbor, who — like Serena — has young children.
All three look up to Cecelia Fire Thunder, the first female president of their tribe, as she counters a South Dakota law that makes abortion a crime, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Fire Thunder takes a stand by proposing a women's health clinic providing abortions on the reservation but open to all local women.
But Fire Thunder's bold proposal is seen by some as grandstanding, and the tribe is divided over both the abortion issue and Fire Thunder herself. Ultimately, Fire Thunder is impeached by her political enemies inside the tribal government (perhaps with the help of the South Dakota political right), an act that sets off a chain reaction in the lives of Sunny, Serena, and Brandon. A tumultuous tribal election to replace Fire Thunder and a state vote that defeats of the abortion ban, open a political rift between the friends, and help determine the adults they will become.
