Drone Views & Words of Native Wars produced by Bill Ganzel

I’m Bill Ganzel, an independent producer, media artist and photographer from Lincoln, Nebraska. My new project is “Native Wars / New Perspectives.” I’m asking for your help to take the project to its next plateau – to document close to 100 sites with both still photos and drone video – mostly in the 10 states of the Great Plains – of historic battles between Indigenous people, other tribes, and white settlers who were colonizing North America. I’m choosing to photograph and film these sites from a drone because it offers a totally new perspective to the land, a unique viewpoint between standing height and the altitude of an airplane. Also, these works offer new perspectives because I’m combining photos of the land with the words from Native people describing horrible events that happened on these very spots. I need your help because I have been able to research and locate close to 100 battle sites that I’d like to get to. I have the infrastructure I need, the cameras, mics, drones, and a car that should keep me on the road. I don’t have the cash to pay for gas, per diems and motels. It’s almost 2,000 miles from Matagorda Texas to the Marias Massacre site in Montana. It’s another 1,400 miles from Fort Defiance Arizona to Fort Ridgely in Minnesota, with hundreds of miles in between. Along the way, I’ll be completing work for two other projects, the documentary video of Dust Bowl Descent and the Sixties Survivors project. My goal, with your help, is to raise at least $6,000 to pay for the out-of-pocket expenses for the next steps of the “Native Wars / New Perspectives” project. Please give what you can. Thank you