Sleeping Lady is a majority owned Native American Company based out of Anchorage AK and Santa Fe NM. The name of the company is based on a Dena’ina legend relating to Mount Susitna, located on the west bank of the lower Susitna River near Anchorage. The company was started by well known Native American actor Irene Bedard and Canadian businessman Thomas Denomme in January 2012. The two had met when
Irene guest starred on the cooking, travel and culture show, “Rezervations Not Required” which Thomas had started in Canada and now brought over to SLWG. They shared their beliefs on the state of Native American film and television and found they were surprisingly similar. Not only are Native Americans underrepresented in film and television, (There are two shows now featuring the Amish; Native Americans – none!) most times when they are featured, it denigrates into either negative or stereotypical scenarios. Our goal is to change all that. We have created a slate of both television and film projects that concentrate on the positive aspects of Indian Country. These shows will be of the highest quality bringing together the best people we can find; both Native and non-Native. We plan to inspire and entertain by bringing the best stories we can find to the world. Sleeping Lady is not a charitable organization and is founded on sound business practices. Each project contains its own condensed business plan with budgets and marketing capabilities that tie into the overall business plan for the company. Utilizing film tax credits, branding, sponsorship and product placement, we expect each project to be profitable. We also recognize our responsibility to help build the Native Film industry and have included a training component in all our projects. We want to help mentor the next generation of Native filmmakers at all levels by having them work with our people, again both Native and non-Native. We also want to work with Tribes that want to share their stories with the world, and train their people at the same time.
SLWG is a Native American film/television production company dedicated to bringing positive, inspirational stories from Indian Country to the world.
