Kin Theory: Why Indigenous Representation Matters

Date & Time: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - 6-7:30pm EST / 3-4:30pm PST

Topic: "Why Indigenous Representation Matters"

Registration: Free Event!

About This Event:
Join this robust, virtual screening and conversation about the importance of narrative sovereignty, where Indigenous creators (re)take control of their stories in a rapidly shifting industry landscape. Indigenous media makers are making important interventions at all levels of production in order to bring authenticity and respect to screens big and small. Watch stories and get advice from Brit Hensel (Reservation Dogs, Osiyo TV, Reciprocity Project), Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Molly of Denali, Reciprocity Project), and Theola Ross (NSI IndigiDocs, CBC Short Docs). Those who register for this event in advance will receive access to a private screening link to work by the panelists. Filmmaker and Nia Tero Managing Director of Storytelling Tracy Rector will moderate.

Meet The Panelists:
- Brit Hensel (she/her) is an Oklahoma-based writer and award-winning filmmaker whose work focuses on Indigenous storytelling and environmental justice. A member of Cherokee Nation, Brit is currently in development on ᎤᏕᏲᏅ, a short film a part of the Reciprocity Project by Nia Tero. Brit’s work largely explores traditional Cherokee values, language, and her peoples’ connection to land in Oklahoma (former Indian Territory) and in her ancestral homelands of North Carolina (Qualla Boundary). Brit continues to use her love for storytelling to help amplify the voices and values of her community. Most importantly, she hopes her work honors and makes Cherokee people proud.

- Princess Daazhraii Johnson (she/her) is Neets'aii Gwich'in and lives with her three sons and partner on the traditional territory of lower Tanana Dene lands in Alaska. She is humbled to serve on the board of Native Movement and NDN Collective - collectively, she works to protect the lands, waters, animal and plant relatives that continue to take care of all of us. She has served on the SAG-AFTRA Native American Committee since 2007 and in 2015 she was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is a Sundance Film Alum, a current Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow and Creative Producer and screenwriter for the Peabody award-winning PBS Kids series Molly of Denali.Tracy Rector (she/her) is Managing Director, Storytelling at Nia Tero. Tracy Rector has a passion for amplifying and empowering Indigenous voices and two decades of experience as a community organizer, educator, filmmaker, film programmer, and arts curator. She has directed and produced over 400 films including shorts, features, music videos, and virtual reality projects. Her work has been featured on Independent Lens, imagineNative, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, as well as at international film festivals including Cannes and Toronto. Tracy served as a Seattle Arts Commissioner for 8 years, sits on the board of the Mize Foundation, and is the co-founder of Longhouse Media and the founder of Indigenous Showcase.

- Theola Ross (Two Spirit, interchangeable pronouns) is a social worker and filmmaker from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Manitoba; now living in Tkaronto, Ontario with 2-year-old daughter K.w.tin-NorthWind. Theola currently works for the Ministry of Education, as well as within the community teaching the Cree language to youth, sharing her story and bringing the arts through an Indigenous lens to schools in the Toronto District School Board. êmîcêtôsêt: Many Bloodlines premiered at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and was winner of the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary and the Best Short Documentary Work at the 2020 imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. Most recently it was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards.

SPONSORS:
Nia Tero, FSU Department of Art History, FSU College of Communication & Information, FSU School of Communication, FSU Native American and Indigenous Studies Ad Hoc Committee