Frybread Jesus
by Erik Sanchez

Synopsis: A Native man finds the image of Jesus Christ on a piece of frybread

Student: Erik Sanchez (Shoalwater Bay / Chinook / Chicano). Raised between the Imperial Valley in Southern California and the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation on the Washington peninsula, he graduated from Everett Community College in 2018 with an Associates of Fine Arts in Photography and is currently a senior studying Cinematic and Performing Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Sanchez is the recipient of the George R.R. Martin Master Storyteller Scholarship of 2021 and 2022

Director Statement: I made this for my broadcast technology class at the institute of american indian arts. I had the idea eating a piece of frybread one night and thought it would be a hilarious story to tell

Institute of American Indian Arts

Waya Gary Keene: The Life of a Pueblo of Acoma Artist
by Darrell Leighton

Synopsis: A brief documentary of Waya Gary Keene, Acoma Artist.

Student: Born in Lawrence, Kansas. Raised on the Rosebud Reservation of South Dakota. This is my first documentary.

Artist Statment: Waya Gary Keene: The Life of a Pueblo of Acoma Artist is a look at an artist that lived a wonderful life, had his ups and downs, but triumphed through it all.

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Tuluŋigraq
by Tracy Burns

Synopsis: The Iñuit legend of Tuluŋigraq and how Tikiġaq (Point Hope) Alaska was formed.

Student: Tracy Burns

Ilisagvik College

The One Who Had the Daylight
by Tracy Burns

Synopsis: The Inuit legend of the creation of the sun and the moon.

Student: Tracy Burns

Ilisagvik College

The Little People
by Tracy Burns

Synopsis: The Inuit legend of the Little People.

Student: Tracy Burns

Ilisagvik College

Director Statement

I come from six generations of San Ildefonso Pueblo pottery artists. My Pueblo’s traditional Tewa name is Po-woh-geh Owingeh, which means “Where the water cuts through.” Our reservation is located in northern New Mexico.
When my family works with clay, we think good thoughts so that our pottery reflects goodness, too. I practice this intention from a storytelling perspective. A quote we often say in my family,
“We come from the clay and the earth, and we will return to the clay and the earth,” reflects the respect we have for clay, our ancestors, and the circle of life. Pottery often appears in my films, including River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh).
I wrote and directed River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh) after the sudden passing of my younger brother, Tyler. He was 19 years old and serving in the military. His death was one of the most devastating things I’ve ever experienced. During those early moments of grief, I leaned into the traditions of my Tewa people.
One place where I can express my grief openly is the Rio Grande, whose waters cut through San Ildefonso Pueblo. When we greet the river, we bless ourselves with the river water.
The protagonist of my film, Tisha, also struggles with grief and guilt, but she finds a way to give back to her community by embracing her Tewa values. River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh) is about my love for my Tewa people and my wish for us to heal as a community from intergenerational grief. In the film, Tisha blesses herself with the River water, and the River becomes her guide. Together, they give to the Tewa people.
River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh) is the first narrative fiction film approved by San Ildefonso Pueblo to be filmed on Tribal lands since the 1980’s. I made this film in hopes of inspiring more storytellers from my Pueblo. River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh) is told using an Indigenous story structure, inspired by traditional Tewa stories. I’m so grateful to have support from my family and community. This film would not exist without them.
I dedicate this film to my younger brother, Tyler, because his memory lives in my heart forever. He is now home with the clay and the earth, and I miss him tremendously, but I know he is proud of me. One day, I will return to the clay and the earth, too.
River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh) is my debut narrative fiction short film, and I’m so proud of how much this film and I have grown together.

River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh)
by Charine Pilar Gonzales

Synopsis: Synopsis: A Tewa woman struggles with guilt after stealing money from a local business. Her grandmother takes her to the River to remind her of Tewa values. The Tewa woman blesses herself with River water, and the River becomes her guide. Together, they give to the people.

Student: Charine Pilar Gonzales is a Tewa filmmaker from San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her esteemed short doc Our Quiyo: Maria Martinez (2022) premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was acquired by AT&T, and will be exhibited at the Heard Museum and Millicent Rogers Museum in 2024. Charine’s debut narrative fiction short film, River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh), is currently in the film festival circuit. Charine aims to intertwine memories, dreams and truths through story.

Charine is a Producer for the Native Lens project, a crowdsourced collaboration by KSUT Tribal Radio and Rocky Mountain PBS. She owns the multimedia production company Povi Studios. Charine attends the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) MFA Creative Writing program with a focus in Screenwriting.

Charine is an alumni of the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program Full Circle Fellowship, Native Lab AiR, and a current Indigenous Film Opportunity Fellow. She’s also an alumni of First Peoples Fund ABL Fellowship, LA Skins Fest TV Writers Lab, and Jackson Wild Summit Media Lab and MCA Fellowship. She is represented by Rain Management Group, based in LA. Her favorite foods are Pueblo oven bread, red chile stew, and chicos. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her family and chunky orange tabby cat, Cheddar.

Institute of American Indian Arts

Student: Charine Pilar Gonzales is a Tewa filmmaker from San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her esteemed short doc Our Quiyo: Maria Martinez (2022) premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was acquired by AT&T, and will be exhibited at the Heard Museum and Millicent Rogers Museum in 2024. Charine’s debut narrative fiction short film, River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh), is currently in the film festival circuit. Charine aims to intertwine memories, dreams and truths through story.

Charine is a Producer for the Native Lens project, a crowdsourced collaboration by KSUT Tribal Radio and Rocky Mountain PBS. She owns the multimedia production company Povi Studios. Charine attends the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) MFA Creative Writing program with a focus in Screenwriting.

Charine is an alumni of the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program Full Circle Fellowship, Native Lab AiR, and a current Indigenous Film Opportunity Fellow. She’s also an alumni of First Peoples Fund ABL Fellowship, LA Skins Fest TV Writers Lab, and Jackson Wild Summit Media Lab and MCA Fellowship. She is represented by Rain Management Group, based in LA. Her favorite foods are Pueblo oven bread, red chile stew, and chicos. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her family and chunky orange tabby cat, Cheddar.

Our Quiyo: Maria Martinez
by Charine Pilar Gonzales

Synopsis:
Maria "Povika" Martinez left behind an exceptional legacy built through her artistic application and reintroduction of "black-on-black" pottery, still practiced today by her tribal community of San Ildefonso Pueblo located in northern New Mexico. Her influence on the art world left a lasting impression across many borders, but she is much more than a world-renowned Pueblo pottery artist. Maria is our grandmother. She is our Quiyo.

Institute of American Indian Arts

Monarch Garden at Haskell Indian Nations University
by Zach Arquette

Student

Haskell Indian Nations University

Student: Xakái Arquette (Yakama) graduated Haskell Indian Nations University in Spring 2022. There he studied Environmental Science with emphasis on topics pertaining to tribal communities including ethnobotany, ecophysiology, toxicology, watershed hydrology, food sovereignty, and permaculture. Along with a strong research background in the aforementioned areas, Xakái also extensive experience in journalism, videography, and photography; especially utilized as a staff writer and Editor-in-Chief for The Indian Leader, HINU's student-run newspaper.

He also has a keen interest in videos, creative writing, biking, hiking, and exploring the corners of the Pacific Northwest, the homelands of the Yakama Nation.

Ilkwsh Timna "Fire Heart" | A poetry short film
by Zach Arquette

Synopsis: This short film symbolically entails the introspection of finding the light to continue to not only survive, but also thrive. The song used, titled “Kisiskâciwanisîpiy kêyak” by Indigenous band Nêhiyawak, refers to a river flowing at the pace one walks. Ilkwsh Timna "Fire Heart", parallels this idea. Although this motif is not extensively seen in the film, the idea of “flow” and "light" is deeply embedded. The beat of the drum – and our hearts – incite the flow within cycles; we walk, dance, sleep, breathe in cycles. The circle represents our togetherness and ties us to the Earth. Colonization has deeply affected how we individually and collectively connect with each other. Yet, the idea of flow within the circle – sky, medicine wheel, ceremony – has persevered, much like we have. It is our responsibility as conscious beings to shed toxic cycles and breathe life into sacred ones.

Over the course of three days; I wrote, shot and edited what you see here. 5 of the videos were from supplemental sources (militarized police, two protest videos, CC statue takedown, and the animals). The tools used in production include a DSLR camera, projector, and minimal lighting fixtures. Also the music, which inspired and tied everything together, was written and performed by the Indigenous band, Nêhiyawak. I do not claim ownership of the song.

Haskell Indian Nations University

Preserving Our Place
by Jeremey Lavoi and Chantel Comardelle

Student

Horror Night
by Monica Curiel-Wall & Daniel Wall

Staff

Iḷisaġvik College

Soil & Cover Crop Research Internship
by Shelly Knight

Staff

Red Lake Nation College