Brenda Fisher:

Reservation Redemption is a deeply personal story that I felt compelled to share. Chief Marchand Rice, a Colville Tribal Member, was not only the subject of this documentary but also my childhood friend. We grew up together on the Yakama Reservation.  I saw his struggles firsthand as a lost boy caught in a cycle of self-destruction.  His journey from serving a life sentence for murder to becoming a beacon of hope and redemption is a testament to the transformative power of culture and resilience. 

As a witness to Chief’s life, I felt compelled to be a character witness for him during the penalty phase of his trial. In that moment, I saw the weight of his choices.  He was just one juror away from receiving the death penalty, yet his story didn’t end there. It was a pivotal moment that underscored both the gravity of his past and the potential for his future. That experience stayed with me and is one of the driving forces behind this film.

Chief’s transformation began when he met Francis Cullooyah, a tribal elder from the Kalispel Tribe, while serving his sentence. Francis asked him a simple yet profound question: “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” This pivotal moment set Chief on a new path, one rooted in his culture and spirituality. Through this connection, he discovered the strength and healing that came from embracing his heritage. This awakening not only changed his own life but ignited a desire to inspire others walking similar paths of struggle and loss.

At the heart of “Reservation Redemption” is Chief’s remarkable ability to forge deep connections with advocates, activists, and his fellow prisoners. These relationships have been pivotal in his journey, providing mutual support, understanding, and opportunities for cultural and spiritual growth. Through his leadership and advocacy, Chief has influenced his peers and inspired activists like Gabe Galanda, a spiritual rights attorney, and Aaron Faletogo. Aaron, a former prisoner who met Chief during his incarceration, now works with at-risk youth to help them avoid the mistakes he made. 

Blake Pickens:

Growing up, a lot of my family was doing life on the installment plan, in and out of prison. So prison reform has always been an issue that’s been near and dear to my heart. So many of the men in my family went to prison that I assumed it was a rite of passage. I had built it into my life plan. I assumed I would graduate high school. Go to prison for a year. Then start college.

Reservation Redemption was born out of a deep frustration with the way our systems define and discard human lives. In the United States, incarceration too often becomes a place where people are forgotten – especially Native men, who remain among the most overrepresented and underserved populations within the prison system. This film is my response to that erasure.

I wanted to show people that our indigenous culture is not something symbolic or historical, but is alive, active, and capable of transformation. I have seen how cultural identity, ceremony, and community can reach people in ways that punishment never could. Where the prison system isolates and dehumanizes, our traditions offer connection, accountability, and the possibility of redemption.

This film is both a critique and a celebration. It questions a system that prioritizes containment over healing, while honoring the resilience and wisdom of Indigenous communities that have always understood justice as something more human, more spiritual, and more whole.

Reservation Redemption asks a simple question: what if the people we’ve written off are not beyond saving – what if we’ve simply been looking in the wrong place for their redemption?