On March 24, DGA members heard how filmmakers are actively using cinema to challenge historical stereotypes and address critical social issues pertaining to Native and Indigenous peoples when the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee meeting featured the virtual panel Spotlight on Indigenous People and Social Issues Through the Lens of Film and Television.

In an insightful conversation moderated by 2005 DGA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs Award-winning Director Chris Eyre (Edge of America), Directors Razelle Benally (Murder in Big Horn) and Kari Skogland (Wind River: Rising) and Attorney/Playwright/Screenwriter Mary Kathryn Nagle (The Abandons), shared how modern indigenous film is moving beyond stereotypical tropes to highlight past and current issues facing these communities.

Eyre launched the conversation by acknowledging conversations about Native and Indigenous storytelling are ongoing and the storytelling is a balancing act of how to adapt Native content to the market.

Benally spoke about wanting to tell stories that are more futuristic and thinking less about the past because of how a lot of times Native people have been seen as artifacts of the past. She’s thinking of who Native people are going to be tomorrow, and in the future, and wanting to tell those stories.

Skogland noted that as a non-Native filmmaker who directed the project Wind River Rising — which features a Native story alongside a white story — she was able to tell an authentic story by being well researched and working with the reservation that was being represented, whose members were so generous with their stories.

Nagle added that as a lawyer, she feels like authenticity plays into the reasons why Native women are more likely to be raped and murdered than any other population in the United States due to the continued and incredible misrepresentation of Native people, as well as the over-commodification of Native bodies which gives rise to a culture that promotes violence against Native women or deprioritizes investigating those crimes the way they should be.

About the Panelists:

 About the Committee:

The Eastern Diversity Steering Committee represents the concerns of Guild members of African, Asian, Native American, Arab-Middle Eastern or Latino descent residing in the East. Committed to improving the employment opportunities, working conditions and the skills of ethnically diverse Guild members, the Committee sponsors workshops, seminars, round-table discussions and networking events to showcase the talents of its members, recognize their contributions and increase their visibility in the industry.

• For more information about the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee, click here to visit their webpage.