User blog:Jpearson/Thanks for Celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Fandom

Hey everyone!

This month we celebrated the rich culture and history of Native Americans for Native American Heritage Month. Thanks to our friends at Native American Media Alliance, we explored the nuances of Storytelling and Storytellers through a series of events, including the NAHM Panel and a Roundtable hosted by the fellows from the Native American Media Alliance Feature Film Writer’s Lab. If you could not attend this month’s programming, we have you covered with recommendations and links to watch, learn, and enjoy!

We’re thrilled to introduce some recommendations from NAMA's fellows to read, watch, and listen to learn more about the indigenous experience and media. Within this list are IPs that tell the stories of indigenous people from global perspectives.


 * Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young
 * Smoke Signals
 * Sterlin Harjo
 * Taika Waititi
 * Wild Indian - 2021 American thriller film written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr
 * Night Raiders - 2021 Canadian-New Zealand science fiction dystopian film written and directed by Danis Goulet
 * Dance Me Outside - 1994 Canadian drama film, directed by Bruce McDonald. It was based on a book by W.P. Kinsella.
 * Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen - 2108 documentary of pioneering filmmaker and mother Merata Mita
 * Rez Dogs by Steven Tallas
 * Robbie Hood - 2019 television series written by Dylan River
 * The Sapphires - 2012 Australian musical comedy-drama film based on the 2004 stage play The Sapphires by Tony Briggs

We also couldn't end the month without sharing one last story from the perspective of Doane Tulugaq Avery. She is currently co-writing an unannounced queer western horror film for Blumhouse Productions and most recently co-wrote the forthcoming film MOTHERTRUCKER with Joey Soloway who is also set to direct. Doane is one of three participants selected for the Native American Media Alliance’s 2021 Showrunner Program and one of four participants in the 2021 Sundance Native Lab.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Doane is a filmmaker of Iñupiaq descent whose stories focus on feminine, queer, and Indigenous character-driven narratives. She was the recipient of the LA Skins Fest Emerging Filmmaker Award and the imagineNATIVE Jane Glassco Award for Emerging Talent. Her short films have screened at Outfest, Oaxaca Film Fest, Seattle Queer Film Festival, Māoriland, the Hamilton Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, and the Cinematheque in Winnipeg. She was selected as a fellow for the Sundance Institute + IAIA Native Writers Workshop, the Barcid Foundation’s Native American TV Writers Lab, and the 2nd Annual Native American Writers Room sponsored by the Pop Culture Collaborative. She received an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts. Get to know Doane and check out what storytelling means to her.

'''1. Our theme for the year is Storytellers and Storytelling. The theme's focus is the purpose of storytellers and the impact of storytelling. Why is storytelling necessary?'''

Doane: Storytelling is at the center of cultural sustainability and I find storytelling not only a useful tool in navigating life, but also a powerful source in strengthening one’s adaptability.

2. Why is it important to have representatives at the table when creating stories for entertainment?

Doane: It’s important to have truth and authenticity – it’s comforting for viewers to feel like they are invited into a story – there’s still a lot that needs to be unlearned and reframed in terms of Native representation in film, but there is progress being made.

3. What is a takeaway that you want the community to know about indigenous culture?

Doane: That we are natural storytellers with incredibly complex narratives and histories that not only inform who we are as people but what we have to offer the world.

4. In telling your story, what do you want people to take away?

Doane: I hope that my projects both inspire people to find the courage to consider something outside of themselves and widen the lens of queer and Native people while humanizing our experiences and creating spaces for connectivity.

'''5. What stories do you want to see that you haven’t seen? Tell that haven’t been told?'''

Doane: There are so many – I would like to see folks empowered to tell their own stories instead of a water downed, whitewashed, and heteronormative version of a storyteller’s vision.

6. When did the "who" of storytelling first make an impression with/on you?

Doane: Very early on – even as a child I was very aware that the power of voice in media was minimalized. And when I found queer cinema it had a great impact on me and I was especially drawn into the films of Pedro Almodovar, Gus Van Sant, and Todd Haynes.

7. Within this moment of greater inclusion, where does storytelling go?

Doane: It goes where our imagination and creativity take it and the strength of the content will be as strong as the collaboration amongst the creative teams behind the projects, which includes those working at the networks and studios – I personally find content to be strongest when there is a singular vision of a filmmaker who understands and incorporates the collaborative process while maintaining their truth and their voice in that process.

You can learn more from Doane by watching the Native American Heritage Month Panel. She is joined by actor Cara Jade Myers, and writer Shelley Dennis, discussing the power of storytelling and the influence of storytellers. This panel is moderated by the Native American Media Alliances’ own Ian Skorodin.

Thank you t everyone who participated in our discussions, provided recommendations, and continues to spread the word about Fandom’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. We’re honored to do this very important work!