Native American Heritage Month | Representation in Media
When we think about Native peoples, we often have an image in our heads that is reinforced by what we’ve seen on TV or in movies. The problem is, most Native stories are told or portrayed by non-Natives. Crystal Echo Hawk, enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and President and CEO of IllumiNative, puts is bluntly:
We need more Native stories. We need characters and storylines that show our complexity, our humanity, our joy, and our humor…Representation matters – but the quality of representation matters more. - Variety, October 21, 2021
Take some time to watch, read, and reflect on the dynamic art that is being put out by Native creatives from all over the world.
Film & Telivision
“Isn’t it crazy that it’s 2021 and we’re still talking about how great it is that these people are real and have human characteristics? It shouldn’t be radical to have Indigenous people doing normal stuff.”
Tantoo Cardinal (Cree and Métis) in Falls Around Her
The history of Indigenous representation in film & television
Indigenous Representation in Media
Indigenous Filmmakers Finally Find Their Place in Hollywood
Standout TV Shows: Reservation Dogs (FX) and Rutherford Falls (NBC/Peacock)
7 Films to Illuminate Diverse Experiences
12 Movies and TV Shows By and About Indigenous People to Stream Right Now
Music & Podcasts
“My eyes strain to find a shape I’ve come to trust and recognize / As the watercolor drains from the horizon I describe / And my thoughts begin to freeze and float away on a September breeze / Evidence of my daily victories”
7 Great Native American Singers and Music Artists
Rumble On: More Native American Musicians You Should Know
Spotify Playlist: Native American Musicians You Should Know
Native American Music Awards
The first and largest awards show honoring the best in music and entertainment by Native North American Indigenous peoples.
This Land (Podcast)
The award-winning documentary podcast is hosted by Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee) who reports on how the far right is using Native children to attack American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.
All My Relations (Podcast)
Hosted by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), and Desi Small Rodriguez, Ph.D. (Northern Cheyenne Nation and Chicana), they explore our relationships to land, to our creatural relatives, and to one another.
Books
“Being Indian has never been about returning to the land. The land is everywhere or nowhere.”
31 Native American Authors to Read Right Now
40 Best Native American Authors to Read in 2021
The First Oregonians
In this remarkable volume, Oregon Indians tell their own stories—more than half of the chapters are written by members of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes. Using oral histories and personal recollections, these chapters vividly depict not only a history of decimation and decline, but also a contemporary view of cultural revitalization, renewal, and continuity. The First Oregonians also includes essays by prominent Northwest scholars exploring geography, federal-Indian relations, language, and art.
Visual Artists
“Be who you are, even if it kills you. It will. Over and over again. Even as you live.”