Day 2
November 3rd
Eastern Time
Special Screening: Plein Air Painting (The Indigeverse)
Special Screening: Plein Air Painting (The Indigeverse) by Ethan Candyfire
This special screening features the work of Ethan Candyfire. In 2021 he won an award at the Thunder Indigifest Festival. His work provided the inspiration for naming our festival “Indigeverse.”
About the Speaker
Ethan Candyfire
Ethan Candyfire (Kiowa/Apache/Cheyenne and Arapaho) Is a Multi-Disciplined artist out of st. Paul Island Alaska. Originally from Carnegie Oklahoma, Candyfire has three kids Luula, Micah and Max, and a cat named Hamlet. Candyfire primarily focuses on Oil Painting and has recently ventured into digital storytelling. Candyfire draws much of his inspiration from family gatherings. He states “None of my family would claim to be storytellers but if you sat with us, you would find them to be some of the best; I take ideas from them.” Candyfire expresses that creativity gives us tools to navigate the world around us, and stories help us build relationships.
3rd Session: Indigenous Gaming
Indigenous Gaming
The session will focus on gaming design and development. Discussion will include the panelists’ individual journeys in gaming design, professional opportunities in gaming development and opportunities for using gaming for Native culture and language learning.
About the Speakers
Maritza Louis
Maritza Louis is a member of the Syilx / Secwépemc Nations and is a Visual Development Modeler with over 19 years of experience in Feature Animation, Games, VFX, Animated TV and Game Cinematics. Maritza’s portfolio of work includes contributions to titles like GTA V, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, Sausage Party, Spiderman: Homecoming, Ghostbusters, DC League Of Super-Pets, Hill Agency: PURITYdecay, Toto, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and many others. Maritza is the author of her own narrative and pushes for her own continued learning and for more indigenous representation in animation. She supports fellow BIPOC artists in animation through her volunteer work as a mentor for Rise Up Animation, a member of Women In Animation, advisory Board Member of Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and various Indigenous STEAM advocacy initiatives.
Meagan Byrne
Meagan Byrne is an Apihtawikosisân (fed: Métis Nation of Ontario) new media artist, game designer, writer, philosopher and founder of Achimostawinan Games (AchimoGames), an Indigenous indie game studio out of Hamilton, Ontario.
She has been creating digital interactive works since 2014 and is heavily influenced by both traditional RPG video games and Woodland Style art as well as all the stories she heard growing up. Her designs incorporate narrative, game mechanics, sound and traditional art and are deeply rooted in indigenous futurisms, language and Indigenous feminist theory. She sees her work as a constant struggle to navigate the complexities of Indigenous identity within a deeply colonized system. Meagan uses her work to explore questions of cultural belonging, the Indigenization of media and the future of Indigenous language and culture.
Her previous work has been shown in festivals such as imagineNATIVE Film Festival, Toronto; Different Games Conference, New York; and IndieCade; California. She was the first Digital and Interactive Coordinator at imagineNATIVE & developer of the iNDigital Space exhibition and Night of the Indigenous Devs showcase. She has served on the boards of Mixed Reality Performance Atelier, Dame Making Games, and Indigenous Routes. She currently co-organizes Indigenous Game Devs.
Her studio, Achimostawinan Games, developed the Indigenous cybernoir detective game Hill Agency: PURITYdecay out now on Steam and itch.io.
Sadekaronhes Esquivel
Sadekaronhes Esquivel, Kanyen’kehà:ka/ Mexican Indigenous/Bulgaria who’s maternal family resides in Tyendinaga Mohawk Reserve. He is currently living in the Duwamish homelands of Seattle. He comes from a family of artists, writers, beaders, painters, regalia crafters. Sadekaronhes uses the mediums of illustration and games to craft worlds and stories.
He is currently serving as the Artistic Lead/ Lead Concept Artist, for the Indigenous CyberNoir Detective game, “Hill Agency: PURITY / decay” [forthcoming]. Concept Artist, past titles include Blacklight: Retribution, Blacklight: Tango Down, SAW [video game], SAW II: Flesh & Blood. Comic Artist, he has contributed to the Indigenous comic anthologies MOONSHOT VOL3, and debuts as a writer in “Quiet Nights” in A HOWL: The Indigenous Werewolf anthology. Illustrator, he contributed to the Kickstarter hit Indigenous Science Fantasy tabletop role-playing game; “Coyote & Crow”. Writer, wrote character bios for the Water Tribe in the Avatar Legends table top role-playing game from Magpie Games.
He has also worked as a Volunteer EMT/Firefighter for the Confederated Colville Indian Tribes and is involved in non-profit outreach with the Native community in the Greater Seattle area.
2nd Session: Indigenous in Animation: Careers, Mentoring and STEAM
2nd Session: Indigenous in Animation: Careers, Mentoring and STEAM
This session will focus on topics such as careers in the CGI Industry, S.T.E.A.M and DEI in animation. Discussion will include the panelists’ individual journey in the CGI industry; professional career opportunities in CGI industry (Animation Feature/TV, VFX, Games); how S.T.E.A.M plays a part in animation; BIPOC mentoring opportunities with Rise Up animation.
About the Speaker
Maritza Louis
Maritza Louis is a member of the Syilx / Secwépemc Nations and is a Visual Development Modeler with over 19 years of experience in Feature Animation, Games, VFX, Animated TV and Game Cinematics. Maritza’s portfolio of work includes contributions to titles like GTA V, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, Sausage Party, Spiderman: Homecoming, Ghostbusters, DC League Of Super-Pets, Hill Agency: PURITYdecay, Toto, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and many others. Maritza is the author of her own narrative and pushes for her own continued learning and for more indigenous representation in animation. She supports fellow BIPOC artists in animation through her volunteer work as a mentor for Rise Up Animation, a member of Women In Animation, advisory Board Member of Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and various Indigenous STEAM advocacy initiatives.
1st Session: Indigenous Architecture - A Practice of Indigenous Lived Experience
1st Session: Indigenous Architecture - A Practice of Indigenous Lived Experience
Wanda’s work is unique, basing architectural design features on Indigenous culture, and approach that can permeate all scales of design from furniture to architecture to cities. The panel will explore how drawing on Indigenous cultures can guide how we re-imagine our futures.
About the Speaker
Wanda Dalla Costa
Wanda Dalla Costa, AIA, FRAIC, LEED A.P. is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. Her firm, Tawaw Architecture Collective (www.TawArc.com) has offices in both Phoenix and Calgary. At Arizona State University, she is the director and founder of the Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community- driven design and construction program, which brings together tribal community members, industry and a multidisciplinary team of ASU students and faculty to co-design and co-develop solutions for tribal communities. Her teaching and research are focused on Indigenous ways of knowing and being, co-design methodologies, sustainable design, and the resiliency of vernacular architectures. Dalla Costa received an Honorary Doctorate in 2023 from Athabasca University. In 2022, she was also recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, and in 2019, she was recognized as a YBCA 100 recipient by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a list which celebrates people, organizations, and movements shifting culture through ideas, their art, and their activism.