Nona Siyaka
Nona Siyaka (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) was born in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and on the
Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation in South Dakota. After graduating from
Harding Senior High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she took a gap
year and backpacked through Europe before attending the University of
Minnesota. She graduated with a B.A. in Cinema and Media Studies and
English Literature. Her undergraduate thesis project was a short
documentary, shot over two years, entitled "Rough and Tumble", which
follows bull-riding rodeo cowboys on their path to the World
Championships. After interning for a London based film production
company in 2004, she later returned to the United Kingdom and received
an MSc from the University of Edinburgh in 2010. Her short documentary
graduate film project, "Troubled Skies", highlights the problem of
Golden eagle and wildlife persecution in the Scottish countryside.