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376 American Anthropologist Vol. 108, No. 2 June 2006 Indigenous Media Gone Global: Strengthening Indigenous Identity On- and Offscreen at the First Nations\First Features Film Showcase KRISTIN DOWELL New York University ABSTRACT For 12 days in May 2005, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), as well as several other screen- ing venues in Washington, D.C., hosted a group of renowned indigenous filmmakers from around the globe for the ground- breaking film showcase, “First Nations\First Features: A Show- case of World Indigenous Film and Media.” This film showcase highlighted the innovative ways in which indigenous filmmakers draw on indigenous storytelling practices to create cinematic vi- sions that honor their long-standing indigenous cultural worlds while reaching local and world audiences. In this essay, I highlight the onscreen impact through an analysis of several films featured in First Nations\First Features, as well as the offscreen impact emphasizing how the indigenous directors used this opportunity to strengthen social networks and share experience in this in- dustry, which may develop into future collaborative film projects. [Keywords: indigenous media, indigeneity, representation, visual anthropology] For 12 days in May 2005, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Smithsonian’s National Mu- seum of the American Indian (NMAI), as well as several screening venues in Washington, D.C., hosted a group of renowned indigenous filmmakers from around the globe for the groundbreaking film showcase, “First Nations\First Features: A Showcase of World Indigenous Film and Media.” In this film showcase, the first feature films by indigenous filmmakers from around the world were screened to high- light an emergent world cinema. From the landmark film Pathfinder (1987), directed by Nils Gaup (Sami) from Nor- way, widely regarded as one of the first such feature films, to the more recent critically acclaimed Smoke Signals (1998) and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), First Nations\First Features showcased the innovative ways in which indige- nous filmmakers have drawn on indigenous storytelling practices to create cinematic visions that honor the long- standing indigenous cultural worlds within which these contemporary narratives are rooted while also reaching lo- cal and world audiences. Global indigenous media are a powerful arena of cul- tural production through which indigenous filmmakers and activists take up Western media technologies to document indigenous cultural traditions, counter dominant media misrepresentations of indigenous people, and articulate in- digenous cultural futures. Indigenous media production is a practice that simultaneously alters the visual landscape of mainstream media by representing indigenous faces, his- tories, and experiences onscreen, while serving a crucial social role offscreen to provide a practice through which new forms of indigenous solidarity, identity, and commu- nity are created. In this essay, I highlight the onscreen im- pact by focusing on several films featured in First Nations\ First Features as well as the offscreen impact by emphasiz- ing the ways in which the indigenous directors in New York and Washington, D.C., used this opportunity to strengthen social networks and share expertise and experience in this industry, which may develop into future collaborative film projects. ORGANIZING FIRST NATIONS\FIRST FEATURES In much the same way that indigenous media is produced through a patchwork of funding, production, and distribu- tion venues, the First Nations\First Features film showcase was the result of the collaboration between three organiza- tions: the MoMA, the Smithsonian’s NMAI, and New York University. The film showcase was the result of the schol- arship and labor of curators from these institutions: Sally Berger, Assistant Curator in the Department of Film and Media at MoMA; Faye Ginsburg, Director of the Center for Media, Culture, and History, the Center for Religion and Media, and member of the Department of Anthropology at New York University; Elizabeth Weatherford, Director of the Film and Video Center at the Smithsonian’s NMAI; and film- maker and independent curator Pegi Vail. First Nations\First Features is the culmination of the long-standing commit- ment to indigenous media by Berger, Ginsburg, Vail, and Weatherford. These curators have been programming in- digenous media at their respective institutions for over 20 years and sought to create a venue where the remarkable achievements of indigenous directors could gain visibility within the prestigious mainstream venues of MoMA, NMAI, and associated screening venues. Additionally, the curators sought to create an environment in which “New York and Washington, D.C., audiences could encounter the directors and their extraordinary films” (First Nations\First Features 2005). MoMA and NMAI served as the primary screening venues in New York City, whereas the screening venues in Washington, D.C., included the National Gallery of Art, Canadian Embassy, Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Li- brary of Congress, the National Museum of Natural His- tory, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in addition to the newly opened NMAI on the National

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Page 1: Indigenous Media Gone Global

376 American Anthropologist • Vol. 108, No. 2 • June 2006

Indigenous Media Gone Global: StrengtheningIndigenous Identity On- and Offscreen at theFirst Nations\First Features Film Showcase

KRISTIN DOWELLNew York University

ABSTRACT For 12 days in May 2005, the Museum of ModernArt (MoMA) in New York and the Smithsonian’s National Museumof the American Indian (NMAI), as well as several other screen-ing venues in Washington, D.C., hosted a group of renownedindigenous filmmakers from around the globe for the ground-breaking film showcase, “First Nations\First Features: A Show-case of World Indigenous Film and Media.” This film showcasehighlighted the innovative ways in which indigenous filmmakersdraw on indigenous storytelling practices to create cinematic vi-sions that honor their long-standing indigenous cultural worldswhile reaching local and world audiences. In this essay, I highlightthe onscreen impact through an analysis of several films featuredin First Nations\First Features, as well as the offscreen impactemphasizing how the indigenous directors used this opportunityto strengthen social networks and share experience in this in-dustry, which may develop into future collaborative film projects.[Keywords: indigenous media, indigeneity, representation, visualanthropology]

For 12 days in May 2005, the Museum of Modern Art(MoMA) in New York and the Smithsonian’s National Mu-seum of the American Indian (NMAI), as well as severalscreening venues in Washington, D.C., hosted a group ofrenowned indigenous filmmakers from around the globefor the groundbreaking film showcase, “First Nations\FirstFeatures: A Showcase of World Indigenous Film and Media.”In this film showcase, the first feature films by indigenousfilmmakers from around the world were screened to high-light an emergent world cinema. From the landmark filmPathfinder (1987), directed by Nils Gaup (Sami) from Nor-way, widely regarded as one of the first such feature films,to the more recent critically acclaimed Smoke Signals (1998)and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), First Nations\FirstFeatures showcased the innovative ways in which indige-nous filmmakers have drawn on indigenous storytellingpractices to create cinematic visions that honor the long-standing indigenous cultural worlds within which thesecontemporary narratives are rooted while also reaching lo-cal and world audiences.

Global indigenous media are a powerful arena of cul-tural production through which indigenous filmmakers andactivists take up Western media technologies to documentindigenous cultural traditions, counter dominant mediamisrepresentations of indigenous people, and articulate in-digenous cultural futures. Indigenous media production isa practice that simultaneously alters the visual landscape ofmainstream media by representing indigenous faces, his-

tories, and experiences onscreen, while serving a crucialsocial role offscreen to provide a practice through whichnew forms of indigenous solidarity, identity, and commu-nity are created. In this essay, I highlight the onscreen im-pact by focusing on several films featured in First Nations\First Features as well as the offscreen impact by emphasiz-ing the ways in which the indigenous directors in New Yorkand Washington, D.C., used this opportunity to strengthensocial networks and share expertise and experience in thisindustry, which may develop into future collaborative filmprojects.

ORGANIZING FIRST NATIONS\FIRST FEATURES

In much the same way that indigenous media is producedthrough a patchwork of funding, production, and distribu-tion venues, the First Nations\First Features film showcasewas the result of the collaboration between three organiza-tions: the MoMA, the Smithsonian’s NMAI, and New YorkUniversity. The film showcase was the result of the schol-arship and labor of curators from these institutions: SallyBerger, Assistant Curator in the Department of Film andMedia at MoMA; Faye Ginsburg, Director of the Center forMedia, Culture, and History, the Center for Religion andMedia, and member of the Department of Anthropology atNew York University; Elizabeth Weatherford, Director of theFilm and Video Center at the Smithsonian’s NMAI; and film-maker and independent curator Pegi Vail. First Nations\FirstFeatures is the culmination of the long-standing commit-ment to indigenous media by Berger, Ginsburg, Vail, andWeatherford. These curators have been programming in-digenous media at their respective institutions for over 20years and sought to create a venue where the remarkableachievements of indigenous directors could gain visibilitywithin the prestigious mainstream venues of MoMA, NMAI,and associated screening venues. Additionally, the curatorssought to create an environment in which “New York andWashington, D.C., audiences could encounter the directorsand their extraordinary films” (First Nations\First Features2005).

MoMA and NMAI served as the primary screeningvenues in New York City, whereas the screening venuesin Washington, D.C., included the National Gallery of Art,Canadian Embassy, Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. SacklerGallery, Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Li-brary of Congress, the National Museum of Natural His-tory, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts,in addition to the newly opened NMAI on the National

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Mall.1 First Nations\First Features screened 25 films, includ-ing three key documentaries as well as several short fic-tions and feature films. These films represented a host ofFirst Nations communities, among them Australian Aborig-ine, Maori, Inuit, Native North and South American, Nenet,Sami, and Rotuman. A majority of the directors participatedin the entire film showcase, introducing their films andanswering questions after screenings, speaking at a sym-posium, “Cultural Creativity and Cultural Rights: On andOff Screen” held at the NMAI in New York, and travelingfrom New York to Washington, D.C., for the screenings heldthere.

From May 12 to 23, 2005, over 11,000 audience mem-bers viewed indigenous feature films that ranged from epictraditional tales to gripping contemporary indigenous ur-ban dramas. The First Nations\First Features curators elo-quently note in their curatorial statement that “over thepast two decades, these filmmakers have broken barriers tonative film production, garnering major awards worldwide,from Cannes to Sundance to Kautokeino. The works fea-tured in this showcase, whether classics or premieres, are‘firsts’ for their directors and the First Nations communi-ties they come from” (First Nations\First Features 2005).Audience members were brought into the distinctive cul-tural worlds of the filmmakers through the unique visions,indigenous aesthetics, and dramatic storytelling of theirfilms. The MoMA screening theater, and additional screen-ing venues in Washington, D.C., were transformed into in-digenous spaces in which native stories, experiences, andhistories were given center stage.

“TELLING OUR OWN STORIES”: ONSCREENREPRESENTATION

Indigenous media have reclaimed the screen from dom-inant media representations to tell stories from theperspectives of indigenous peoples. A burgeoning fieldof scholarship on indigenous media has examined howmedia technologies are appropriated and transformed tomeet the needs of local indigenous communities. Thisscholarship has revealed the ways in which indigenousmedia provide “screen memories” for local communities(Ginsburg 2002), the role of media in indigenous ac-tivism in the Amazon and Brazil (Conklin 1995; Turner2002), community-based indigenous media initiativesthroughout South and Latin America (Brıgido-Corachan2004; Cordova 2005; Himpele 2004; Wortham 2004), theimpact of Inuit filmmaking (Bessire 2003; Ginsburg 2003;Huhndorf 2003), the politics of representation in NativeAmerican video (Prins 1997), efforts to decolonize thescreen (Barclay 1990; Kilpatrick 1999; Langton 1993; Singer2001; Todd 1993), analyses of national cultural policiessupporting and constraining indigenous media production(Alia 1999; Buddle-Crowe 2002; Himpele 2002; Molnarand Meadows 2001; Roth 2005), and the emergence ofindigenous aesthetics in indigenous media (Ginsburg1994; Johnson 2000; Leuthold 1998; Masayesva 1995;Michaels 1993; Weatherford 1996). In an interview for

a New Zealand tourism website, renowned Maori film-maker Merata Mita noted the power of indigenous mediaproclaiming: “Swimming against the tide becomes anexhilarating experience. It makes you strong. For90 minutes or so, we have the capability of indigeniz-ing the screen in any part of the world our films are shown.This represents power and is one reason we make films thatare uniquely and distinctly Maori” (New Zealand 2005).

The films showcased in First Nations\First Featuresdemonstrate a tremendous range in content and style.2 Sev-eral themes emerge from the films, including (1) the ex-ploration of family dynamics, (2) the representation of epictraditional stories, (3) the hard-hitting contemporary urbanrealities for indigenous people, and (4) the strong ties toland and commitment of Native activists and communitiesto their traditional territories. In the next section, I examineseveral of the films featured in First Nations\First Featuresthrough the lens of these four themes.

FAMILY DYNAMICS

Family is a key feature to indigenous social life, and severalof these films explicitly address the often-complicated rela-tionships between family members within indigenous com-munities. It is not surprising, given colonial efforts to dis-rupt indigenous family structures—such as in the policy toremove mixed-race Aboriginal children from their familiesin Australia, or the residential school system in the UnitedStates and Canada—that many indigenous directors use me-dia as a way in which to recuperate indigenous communitystructures and to make central the intricate dynamics of in-digenous family life in film narratives. In Radiance (1998),directed by Rachel Perkins (Arrernte/Kalkadoon), the narra-tive revolves around three Aboriginal sisters who have re-turned to their childhood home for their mother’s funeral.As these three formerly estranged sisters recall their child-hood memories, the past begins to unravel as family se-crets are revealed that alter the kinship ties of the sisters.The dynamics of an extended family in a small rural Maoricommunity are central to Merata Mita’s seminal film Mauri(1987), one of the earliest indigenous feature films and thefirst feature film directed by a Maori woman. Mauri is setin a 1950s rural Maori community that is facing the lossof its land and of its young people moving to urban areas.The unexpected arrival of Rewi, a man on the run fromprison, alters community and family dynamics. As part ofRewi’s journey, he reconnects with his spiritual traditionson a path of redemption guided by his relationships withtwo Maori women.

Smoke Signals (1998), directed by Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho), was a groundbreaking film; it was the first fea-ture film written, directed, produced, and acted by Na-tive Americans. This film, critically acclaimed and a box-office success, is based on the short stories of ShermanAlexie (Coeur d’Alene/Spokane). It portrays the estrangedrelationship between Victor Joseph and his father, Arnold,as Victor reluctantly travels with his companion, eccentricstoryteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire, from the Coeur d’Alene

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FIGURE 1. Photo still from 5th World (2005). (Photo courtesy of filmmaker Larry Blackhorse Lowe)

reservation to Phoenix to retrieve his father’s remains. Anexploration of the relationship between fathers and sons,this film poignantly and comically explores the dynamics offamily within contemporary Native American reservationlife. The newest film to be screened in First Nations\FirstFeatures was the feature film 5th World (2005), directedby emerging filmmaker Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo). A lyri-cal and poetic experimental film, 5th World captures thestark Navajo landscape, while exploring the developing re-lationship between two Navajo young adults as they hitch-hike through Navajo country. With a haunting sound-track and striking visuals of the landscape as the backdropto the budding romance, the film centers on Navajo cul-tural traditions, clan identity, and taboos. Ultimately astory about Navajo kinship and the centrality of clan iden-tity to cultural traditions, this film provides an unconven-tional look at the way in which Navajo youth negotiateties to cultural traditions within contemporary life (seeFigure 1).

BRINGING TRADITIONAL STORIES TO THE BIG SCREEN

Several of the most notable indigenous feature films havetranslated epic traditional tales to cinema. From Pathfinder

(1987), directed by Nils Gaup (Sami), to the more recentAtanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), directed by ZachariasKunuk (Inuit), indigenous storytelling traditions and talesused by elders to teach moral lessons to indigenousyouth are transformed into gripping dramatic feature films.Pathfinder, the first Sami-language feature film, receivedcritical acclaim within Norway and internationally, in-cluding an Academy Award nomination for Best ForeignLanguage Film. Pathfinder is an action-adventure story basedon a thousand-year-old Sami legend often told to Samiyouth. The film focuses on a young man who witnessesthe brutal death of his family by a band of marauders andsubsequently leads his people in a fight against these out-siders. Vividly evoking the customs, traditions, family life,and spirituality of ancient Sami life, this film presents a dra-matic narrative about the morals of standing up for one’scommunity to maintain traditional territory and culturaltraditions.

Likewise, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, winner of theCamera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and anAcademy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film, is a tradi-tional Inuit tale set in ancient times with a plot that exam-ines the dynamics between rival families and supernaturalforces manipulated by shamans. It is the first feature film

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written, directed, produced, and acted by Inuit in the Inuk-titut language. The film follows the hero, Atanarjuat, whomust struggle against a shaman’s curse to assure his commu-nity’s future. Atanarjuat is the production of Igoolik Isuma,a video production company that has been using media tomake documentaries and short narratives about Inuit tra-ditions and social life for over 20 years. The production ofPathfinder and Atanarjuat required the mobilization of manycommunity members in every aspect of production fromacting and writing to directing and costume design. Theseproductions strengthen intergenerational ties and nurturecultural traditions through the mobilization of traditionalskills, indigenous knowledge, and storytelling throughoutthe production process. The fact that these traditional talesare now captured in these indigenous features will ensurethat future generations of Sami and Inuit children can learnfrom these stories through the medium of film.

CONTEMPORARY REALITIES AND URBAN LIFESTYLES

The films featured in First Nations\First Features spannedthe range from ancient oral traditions to autobiographicallyinspired stories to comic narratives and politically chargedactivist dramas. A prominent theme among several filmsis the exploration of the contemporary urban conditionsfacing many indigenous people today. Urban life is a so-cial reality for a large number of indigenous people, and inthe United States and Canada approximately 68 percent ofNative populations reside in urban areas.3 The demands ofurban life often pose challenges to the maintenance of in-digenous traditions and cultural identity. Angels of the Earth[Los Angeles de la Tierra] (2001), directed by Patricio Luna(Aymara), is a cautionary tale about the dangers of urbanlife. It follows the story of two Aymara brothers who haveleft a poor mountain village in search of a better life in thecity. Once Were Warriors (1995), directed by Lee Tamahori(Maori), is a gritty and often violent portrayal of contem-porary urban Maori life. This film was the debut feature filmfor Tamahori, who has since gone on to direct such films asMulholland Falls (1996) and Die Another Day (2002), and itremains one of highest-grossing films in New Zealand. OnceWere Warriors follows conflict and drama within the Hekefamily as Beth Heke challenges her volatile husband Jakewhile seeking to change their lifestyle. After a tragic familyevent, Beth realizes that she longs to return to her marae, herrelatives, and the Maori traditions in which she was raised.

Beneath Clouds (2001), directed by Ivan Sen (Gamilaroi)is the story of two hitchhiking Aboriginal teens as theytravel to Sydney. Although much of the screen time is setagainst the landscape of the rural outskirts of Sydney, thefilm also addresses racism, police brutality, and incarcera-tion as contemporary social issues facing Aboriginal youthin Australia. This exquisitely shot film examines Aborigi-nal identity through the lens of the reluctant friendshipthat develops between Lena and Vaughn. Lena, a light-skinned Aboriginal woman, is trying to reach Sydney tofind her absent Irish father, whereas Vaughn, a streetwise

FIGURE 2. Film still from Beneath Clouds (2001). (Photo courtesyof Teresa-Jayne Hanlon and Autumn Film Productions)

angry Aboriginal teen, escapes a detention center in an ef-fort to get to Sydney to see his dying mother. Lena andVaughn are thrown together in their journey to Sydney,come to depend on one another, and eventually establisha tentative friendship. A subtle and artfully crafted film,Beneath Clouds poignantly examines the issue of Aborigi-nality, allowing room for the diversity of Aboriginal iden-tity, faces, and experiences while at the same time creat-ing a space to interrogate social conditions such as racismand police brutality facing Aboriginal youth today (seeFigure 2).

CONNECTIONS TO THE LAND

The works screened at First Nations\First Features explorethe ways in which indigenous communities maintain astrong connection to the land and depend on the seasonalcycles of their traditional territories. Itam Hakim, Hopiit(1984), directed by Victor Masayesva Jr. (Hopi), exploresthe centrality of corn, farming, and the desert landscapein traditional Hopi life. An early Native American feature,this experimental documentary is narrated by a Hopi elderwho blends personal and cultural history to tell of seminalmoments in Hopi history, including the oral tradition ofthe Hopi Emergence, as well as to detail historical accountsof the Pueblo Revolt and the age of the conquistadors.Evoking a quiet reverence for the earth, this criticallyacclaimed video was filmed in the Hopi language (withan English voice-over) and offers a unique poetic visual-ization of Hopi prophecy and worldview. Likewise, thedocumentary Powerful Mountain [Guia Too] (1998), directedby Crisanto Manzano Avella (Zapotec), is a visual medi-tation on the delicate balance the indigenous people ofOaxaca create with the environment of the Guia Too cloudforest. The video provides stunning documentation of thetremendous biodiversity within this cloud forest, and thelocal knowledge with which indigenous people maintain abalance with the environment as they farm the area.

Many indigenous cultural traditions are rooted in a spir-itual connection to the land and the strength of these tiesis revealed in the tenacity of indigenous activists in strug-gles over land claims. The groundbreaking film Kanehsa-take: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), directed by renownedfilmmaker Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki), is a feature-length

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documentary that follows the 1990 “Oka crisis,” a78-day armed standoff between Mohawk activists and theQuebec Provincial Police and Canadian Army. Mohawk ac-tivists barricaded a portion of their traditional territoryknown as “the Pines,” which contains a Mohawk burialground and on which the town of Oka sought to expanda golf course. Obomsawin traces the history of this con-frontation over the course of several hundred years, notingthat the tensions over this area of land are rooted in thecolonization, dispossession, and illegal transfer of Mohawkland to the town of Oka. This remarkable film captures thetremendous dedication, commitment, and strength of theMohawk activists and articulates this land struggle withinthe framework of indigenous political sovereignty and spir-itual traditions. This armed standoff in 1990 drastically al-tered the political relationship between the Canadian gov-ernment and Aboriginal peoples, and Kanehsatake has hada tremendous impact by giving voice and visibility to thestruggle for Aboriginal rights in Canada while inspiring in-digenous activists around the world.

BUILDING COMMUNITY: OFFSCREEN SOCIALNETWORKS

Indigenous filmmakers alter the world as seen onscreen bypresenting indigenous stories that draw on uniquely indige-nous cultural traditions and aesthetic styles to reimaginethe possibilities of filmic representation. Additionally, thepractice of media production itself alters indigenous socialrelations offscreen by providing a crucial practice throughwhich new forms of indigenous solidarity are formed. As acultural event, First Nations\First Features Film Showcase fa-cilitated these social networks by bringing together over 20indigenous filmmakers to New York and Washington, D.C.,to participate throughout the course of the 12-day show-case. First Nations\First Features is linked to the broadercultural world of the ever-expanding Native film festivalcircuit, which serves a vital role in promoting, showcas-ing, and gaining visibility for indigenous media. There area large number of Native film festivals in the United Statesand Canada as well as in South America, Australia, and NewZealand.4

At the various sites along the increasingly global Na-tive film festival circuit, Native people from various tribal,cultural, and national backgrounds come together to seethe latest work in the field of indigenous media, discussthe obstacles and achievements in the indigenous mediaindustry, build professional alliances, and catch up on thelatest news from friends and colleagues. First Nations\FirstFeatures strengthened social networks through formal activ-ities such as the symposium “Cultural Creativity and Cul-tural Rights: On and Off Screen” and more informal activi-ties such as lunches, including one hosted by the AmericanIndian Community House in New York and one at the NMAIin Washington, D.C., as well as evening events, conversa-tions over coffee, and late-night celebrations (see Figure 3).First Nations\First Features enabled the participating in-

digenous filmmakers to see each other’s work, which can bedifficult to access in the remote home communities of sev-eral filmmakers, as well as to discuss the commonalities anddifferences they each face in working in their respective FirstNations communities and countries of production. Film-makers, established and emerging, remote and urban, werebrought together in shared dialogue. For some filmmakers,this showcase was an opportunity to reunite with long-timefriends and colleagues; for others, it was an opportunity tosee their film in a new light by having it screened for thefirst time with international indigenous films (see Figure 4).

The symposium “Cultural Creativity and CulturalRights: On and Off Screen,” hosted at NMAI in New York,provided an opportunity for the participating filmmak-ers to discuss their work in light of the themes of cul-tural rights—such as access to the means of productionand various national cultural policies that shape, enable,and constrain indigenous media production—and culturalcreativity—such as the challenges, concerns, and techni-cal possibilities of translating indigenous storytelling andaesthetic traditions to film. This lively symposium raisedissues from the constraints of funding structures to the im-pact of indigenous media on cultural identity to filmmakers’aspirations for future directions within indigenous media.Filmmaker Marcelina Cardenas Sausa (Quechua), director ofLoving Each Other in the Shadows [Llanthupi Manakuy] (2001),described the collective nature of her community’s produc-tion process, proclaiming, “Our goal is to strengthen ourcultural identity, to show our own model for developmentthrough indigenous media. In that sense, our work withmedia has a sense of community, of reciprocity, of comple-mentarity” (First Nations\First Features 2005:3). AnastasiaLapsui (Nenet), writer and director of A Bride of the SeventhHeaven [Jumulan Morsian] (2003), echoed this sentiment asshe discussed the way in which she mobilizes her commu-nity to create her lyrical films. She declared, “I am a nomadicperson, I come from a family of reindeer herders, hunters,and fishermen. I just take a slice of life, of my life or thelife of my neighbors, I write it up and a film comes out. Wethe nomadic people live collectively and our films are borncollectively as well” (First Nations\First Features 2005:6).

Merata Mita (Maori) and Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) both raised the questions “who is the primaryaudience for indigenous media?” and “can indigenousfilms appeal to a mainstream audience despite the ways inwhich indigenous films differ aesthetically from Hollywoodformulas?” Mita called for indigenous filmmakers to drawon their storytelling traditions as the basis for writingfilm scripts, acknowledging that “I think it’s a mistake tocast aside whatever has served us so well in the past, tothink that, because we are writing scripts for film, that thisis something totally different, that we don’t need thoselessons of the arts of storytelling that we got from ouroral tradition” (First Nations\First Features 2005:10). Mitaadvocates using indigenous oral traditions as a culturalresource from which to draw on when making films.She also counters the notion prevalent in mainstream

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FIGURE 3. First Nations\First Features filmmakers in Washington, D.C., from left to right: Patricio Luna (Aymara), Pegi Vail (First Nations\FirstFeatures curator), Nils Gaup (Sami), Markuu Lehmuskallio, Crisanto Manzano Avella (Zapotec), Larry Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo), and JohannesLehmuskallio. Standing in front on left Marcelina Cardenas (Quechua) and Anastasia Lapsui (Nenet). (Photo by Kristin Dowell)

media that all films need to appeal to a wide audienceand obtain high-grossing numbers at the box office. Shedefines the power of indigenous film in its reconfigurationof movie audiences by constructing indigenous people asthe primary audience and creating films that appeal toand resonate with indigenous audiences. She exclaimed,“We have every right to make films for ourselves, just asHollywood has every right to make films for whatever theiraudience is. Why should we be excluded from making ourown stories for our own people to see?” (First Nations\First Features 2005:11). Jolene Rickard (Tuscarora), themoderator of the panel on cultural creativity, emphasizedthe social role of indigenous filmmakers as they work toensure the maintenance of indigenous cultural traditionsthrough their films. She aptly noted, “I think all of thesefilmmakers are demonstrating in some way a confidence,a commitment to the ongoing construction of ourselvesas indigenous peoples in a world that is putting greatpressure on all peoples to let go of their deep knowledgesystems” (First Nations\First Features 2005:13). By takingthe means of production into their own hands, indigenous

filmmakers reclaim the right to tell indigenous stories ina way that honors the oral traditions and cultural worldswithin which these stories are rooted.

The afternoon symposium panel at NMAI addressed thetheme of cultural rights offscreen, including the nationalcultural policies shaping and constraining indigenous me-dia production as well as the activism of indigenous film-makers to gain greater access to production resources. Muchof the discussion revolved around the difficulties of gain-ing access to funding to produce indigenous media, par-ticularly as many indigenous filmmakers make their filmsfor local indigenous audiences. Nils Gaup (Sami) articulatedthe difficulty of trying to finance feature films while honor-ing Sami storytelling traditions. He explained, “Because wedon’t tell the stories for a large audience, it’s very, very dif-ficult to finance the films, because making films means tofind a story that can sell, that can travel, that can give a lotof money for the producer. And of course, to do that, youhave to find a commercial story, and that’s kind of wrongin the Sami way of thinking” (First Nations\First Features2005:3).

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FIGURE 4. First Nations\First Features filmmakers and NMAI staff at a lunch hosted by NMAI at the Cultural Resources Center in SuitlandMaryland. (Photo by Kristin Dowell)

Rachael Maza (Yidinjdi, Torres Strait Islander) also high-lighted the institutional framework in Australia, describinghow Indigenous film in Australia is in its early stages withonly a handful of Indigenous feature films having beenproduced.5 Maza, like other filmmakers, connects the emer-gence of filmmaking opportunities for Indigenous filmmak-ers as the direct result of the political work of Indigenousactivists in the 1960s in Australia. She proclaimed, “What’sresonating within the progress of developing an Indigenousvoice in our country is the political journey that’s hap-pened. What has been integral and absolutely important tous finding our voice, is developing the skills base in all as-pects of the [filmmaking] industry” (First Nations\First Fea-tures 2005:11). Sally Riley (Wiradjuri), director of the Aus-tralian Film Commission’s Indigenous Unit, remarked onthe diversity of Indigenous Australian filmmakers, as wellas the content of Indigenous media that ranges from doc-umentaries to short dramas to language programming anddocumentation of bush knowledge. She called for institu-tional changes within distribution venues emphasizing that

“in Australia, Aboriginal people are invisible on television atthe moment. . . . We’re not in control of the cinemas or thetelevision stations, and we really need to start getting ourfilmmakers in those key decision-making positions in tele-vision stations. It’s the only way we’ll get people on screen”(First Nations\First Features 2005:14).

From the calls to open up funding and institutional ac-cess to indigenous filmmakers to the debates over how tobalance expressing indigenous storytelling traditions whilereaching broader audiences, these filmmakers raised impor-tant debates around the social conditions of indigenousfilmmaking. One thing is clear, as moderator Paul ChaatSmith (Comanche) noted: Indigenous cinema doesn’t looklike anything that has come before, and indigenous film-makers “come from a land of a thousand dances and ourcinema, if it is really ours, will celebrate each and every oneof them” (First Nations\First Features 2005:16). The filmsincluded in First Nations\First Features celebrate and reflectthe tremendous diversity, ingenuity, and tenacity of indige-nous cultural ways of life, storytelling, and filmmaking.

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CONCLUSION

The First Nations\First Features Film Showcase was agroundbreaking cultural event bringing together indige-nous films and filmmakers from around the globe to screentheir work for audiences in New York and Washington, D.C.While participating in this film showcase, filmmakers wereable to strengthen and create relationships and a shared dis-course of the obstacles and achievements within this emerg-ing world cinema. Several of the participating filmmakershave made plans to collaborate in the future, and institu-tions in other countries, including Norway and Australia,have expressed interest in screening a portion of the show-case. Showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers along-side the established filmmakers who were instrumental inpaving the way for future generations of indigenous film-makers, the First Nations\First Features Film Showcase wasan invaluable film series reflecting the diversity of indige-nous cultural traditions and cinematic visions while simul-taneously recognizing and celebrating the achievements ofindigenous media in the last 20 years and eagerly anticipat-ing the new directions to come.

NOTESAcknowledgments. My deepest gratitude to Faye Ginsburg, SallyBerger, Pegi Vail, and Elizabeth Weatherford for extending me theopportunity to work as a festival assistant for the First Nations\FirstFeatures Film Showcase. I was fortunate to be able to work on theorganization of this landmark film showcase and I am honored tohave been able to spend time getting to know all the filmmakerswho participated in the film showcase. Their filmmaking, activism,and dedication to their communities and cultural traditions remainan inspiration. Also, thank you to Jeff Himpele for extending theinvitation to write a review of First Nations\First Features in thepages of AA.1. A film showcase of this magnitude also required the collabora-tion between many funding organizations and sponsors, includingthe Ford Foundation, John and Margot Ernst, Penelope Seidler, theCanadian Embassy, the Finnish Film Foundation, the New ZealandFilm Commission, the Australian Film Commission, the AustralianConsulate, the Norwegian Film Institute, Pacific Islanders in Com-munications, the Mexican Cultural Institute (Washington, D.C.,and New York), the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, Secretariadel Estado de Michoacan, and Foreign Affairs Canada. In addition,major support was provided by OgilvyOne Worldwide, which de-signed the remarkable website (www.firstnationsfirstfeatures.org)that accompanied the film showcase.2. Although I do not have enough space here to review every filmincluded in First Nations\First Features, I encourage readers to viewthe website (www.firstnationsfirstfeatures.org), which provides in-depth information about all the films and directors included in thefilm showcase.3. See Ogunwale (2002) and Statistics Canada Aboriginal PeoplesSurvey (2003) for further statistical information. In 2000, the Na-tive American population in the United States was 4.1 million, orapproximately 1.5 percent of the total U.S. population of approxi-mately 281 million people; of this population, close to 70 percentlive in urban areas. In Canada the Aboriginal population is approxi-mately 1.3 million, or 4.4 percent of the total Canadian population;approximately 68 percent reside in urban areas.4. Among these festivals are the following: IMAGeNation Abo-riginal Film and Video Festival in Vancouver; ImagineNative FilmFestival in Toronto; Dreamspeakers Film Festival in Edmonton;Winnipeg Aboriginal Film and Video Festival; the American IndianFilm Festival in San Francisco; Native American Film and Video

Festival in New York City; the American Festival of Film and Videoof Indigenous Peoples, an annual festival held in various countriesthroughout Latin and South America annually and organized bythe Consejo Latinoamericano de Cine y Video de Pueblos Indıgenas(CLACPI); the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in New Zealand; the Na-tive Voices Film Festival in South Dakota; and the Native CinemaShowcase in Santa Fe. These festivals are in addition to mainstreamfilm festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival and the All RoadsFilm Festival with National Geographic, both of which includeinternational indigenous films as part of their programming.5. In Australia the preferred convention in regard to terminologyis to capitalize Indigenous Australian. As this is the convention onlyin Australia, I use the capitalized Indigenous only when discussingfilms by Indigenous Australians and when using quotes from In-digenous Australian filmmakers who participated in the film show-case. Throughout the rest of the article, I lowercase indigenous as thisis the convention in most national contexts.

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