Blackfeet Youth Take Center Stage in HEAVY on Sept. 24, A New Documentary Celebrating Music, Connection and Community

What happens when young people have caring mentors, space to turn up the volume, and music and art to help them work through difficult experiences and create something of their own? That question sits at the heart of HEAVY, a new documentary co-produced by Browning Public Schools’ Heavy Music Symposium, Firekeeper Alliance and MAPS Media Institute. The film premieres in Browning on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 5-7 p.m. at Buffalo Hide Academy, 132 2nd Ave SW. The event is free and open to everyone.

Created alongside students at Browning High School and Buffalo Hide Academy, HEAVY grew out of the Heavy Music Symposium, an 18-week program that uses heavy music and creative expression as tools for connection, processing grief and trauma, and suicide reduction. During winter and spring 2026, MAPS Media Institute facilitated three on-site production workshops, with students working alongside professional artist-instructors on cameras, audio, interviews, and shaping the documentary itself, bringing their own music, humor, experiences, and voices to the screen.

“Music means a lot to me, and it has truly saved me at low points in my life. Music is like a floatie in a pool when I feel like I’m drowning. What I love about the Heavy Music Symposium is it’s a comfortable place to express myself without judgment,” said Emily Edwards, a Junior student at Browning High School.

For students like Emily, the symposium became less about performance and more about having a place to be heard, connect with others, and express themselves on their own terms.

That sense of belonging is central to the Heavy Music Symposium. Created through Browning Public Schools and Firekeeper Alliance, the program surrounds students with caring adults. It gives them space to use music and art to express what they may otherwise carry alone. Firekeeper Alliance is a Browning-based nonprofit working to reduce suicide and strengthen mental wellness within the Blackfeet Nation and other Indigenous communities. For Charlie Speicher, Firekeeper Alliance Founder, Executive Director, and Alternative Education Coordinator with Browning Public Schools, that purpose is inseparable from HEAVY.

“Everything we’re trying to do with the heavy music symposium and after-school program is all about lifting up the things that give us hope and make us feel connected. And heavy music does that for so many of us because of how it directly confronts many of the mental health issues we struggle with. This program is all about helping our kids find creative ways to express pain and distress in ways that support them rather than harm them. We couldn’t be prouder of how our kids have come together to take care of each other in the name of heavy metal and punk rock,” Speicher said.

Students echoed that sentiment in their own way. “Connecting to heavy music for the first time, I felt like I was born again. Sludge, hardcore, and black metal have all had a massive impact on my life and how I think. It helps me get in touch with all kinds of emotions, whether that’s happy or sad or anything in between,” said Easton Glaze.

It’s the kind of reflection the project was built to make room for: giving students professional tools and creative space to make something that reflects their own experiences and voices.

That trust extended to the organization behind the camera. MAPS Media Institute is an Emmy Award-winning, Montana-based nonprofit founded in 2004 that provides free professional media arts education to young people statewide. MAPS connects students with working artists, professional equipment, and real-world creative opportunities. The organization has worked on the Blackfeet Nation for years in partnership with Browning Public Schools, Cuts Wood Language School and Blackfeet Community College, with student films earning both regional and national recognition.

For Clare Ann Harff, Executive Director of MAPS Media Institute, HEAVY reflects the kind of partnership MAPS values most. “Art and creativity ask you to be honest about who you are, often in front of other people. That’s not a small thing, and it’s the reason why we connected so quickly with Firekeeper Alliance. We share a belief that young people deserve caring mentors and creative ways to work through what they’re carrying. HEAVY is exactly the kind of project MAPS exists to be part of: listen first, bring professional artists and tools to young people, and help them create something truly their own. We’re incredibly grateful to the student artists, Browning Public Schools, Firekeeper Alliance and the Blackfeet community for trusting us with this work, and we’re excited to share HEAVY with audiences well beyond Browning.”

The workshops and documentary project were primarily funded by MAPS Media Institute, with support from the Greater Montana Foundation and Browning Public Schools.

HEAVY Premiere & Celebration

Thursday, September 24, 2026, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Buffalo Hide Academy, 132 2nd Ave SW, Browning, Montana

Free and Everyone is Welcome

The evening will include refreshments, the premiere screening of HEAVY, a student and filmmaker Q&A, and a red-carpet celebration.