This Native American Heritage Month we’re sharing films that highlight innovative and impactful leaders from Indigenous communities in the arts, politics, and environmental justice.
Cara Romero: Following the Light (2023)
Cara Romero is an award-winning American photographer and an enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Tribe of southeastern California. From highway billboards to fine art gallery walls, Romero’s work elevates the visibility, beauty, and strength of southern California’s Indigenous communities. Channeling centuries-old traditional science and ecological knowledge, Romero’s powerful images defy one-story narratives and champion the representation of Indigenous people through a contemporary lens.
View this powerful study of a change-making artist here:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/lR0wgwXg5
The Ground Between Us (2021)
This 2021 documentary examines the long-standing debate over America’s public lands and how natural resources are managed and protected. Exploring the detrimental impacts of energy expansion on Indigenous people and their lands, The Ground Between Us serves as a call to action for increased support and protection for these marginalized communities.
View this stirring fight for sacred lands here:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/mqkx9y04G
Women Rule (Native America PBS series) (2023)
This PBS-produced documentary follows the inspiring work of Native American women as community leaders, creative artists, and protectors of the planet. From headlining fashion shows to advocating for underserved people and the environment, these remarkable women are taking centuries of tradition forward to lift up their communities and the world.
View the profound impact of these innovative Indigenous women here:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/QkXzG4Z9l
No More Smoke Signals (2009)
Founded in 1983, KILI was the first Native American-owned radio station to broadcast in the United States. Filmed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota, No More Smoke Signals explores the enduring legacy of the Lakota tribe’s long-running radio station as a unifying force for over 30,000 listeners across three reservations.
View this illuminating film about the present-day “Voice of the Lakota Nation” here:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/k2gvLyMlN
Buried Stories (2009)
Ella Rodriguez was an Indigenous activist and tribal monitor born on July 5, 1932, in Watsonville, California. As a representative of the Ohlone/Esselen tribe, Rodriguez worked on California construction sites alongside archaeologists to ensure that encountered Indigenous burial grounds were treated with care. After two decades of critical work and research, Ella begins to reconcile details from her early childhood with her ancestral past.
View the inspiring life story of the beloved Indigenous preservationist here:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/LZ0yL3qJj
Selection by Josh Windham
Published 11/4/2024
