“Frozen River” producer Heather Rae and Endeavor Content are teaming up to make movies by Indigenous filmmakers. Variety reports that Rae signed a three-film development deal with the company. The partnership was announced in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Rae will advise on the projects with IllumiNative founder and executive director Crystal EchoHawk and Bird Runningwater of Sundance Institute. The pact’s goal is to increase the numbers of Indigenous peoples on both sides of the screen.

According to research from IllumiNative, a racial justice org supporting Native voices, Native peoples “make up anywhere from 0% to .04% of representation in American film and television. There are even fewer Native writers and directors.” The Inclusion Initiative found that, across the 1,300 top films from 2007-2019, less than one percent of speaking characters were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

“Heather is an incredible producer, elegant person, and a fierce advocate for Native American and Indigenous storytelling,” stated Endeavor Content co-presidents Graham Taylor and Chris Rice. “Pairing her exceptional vision with Crystal and Bird as Impact Partners will allow us to enable and ennoble these important voices in film, which have been underrepresented for too long.”

“In these times the world is looking for vision, and Indigenous voices bring that power and authenticity to the screen. I am honored to work in tandem with Bird Runningwater and his visionary curation of talent, and Crystal EchoHawk and her groundbreaking organization to energize representation and Native inclusion,” Rae said. “We are thrilled by this partnership with Endeavor Content to bring three incredible stories to life and ensure many more to come.”

Rae won the Film Independent Spirit Awards’ Producers Award for her work on “Frozen River” and “Ibid.” “Once Upon a River,” “Bull,” and “Mosquita y Mari” are among her many producing credits. She has also helmed projects including the docs “Trudell” and “First Circle.”