American Indian Student Films to be Broadcast

Arizona Public Media is screening films produced by three UA students who chose to document life from the perspective of being American Indian.

By Steven Delgado, Arizona Public Media
April 29, 2009

A special showcase of three student-made documentaries offering views of family, leadership and culture from an American Indian perspective is scheduled for next week.

Highlights of each film will be screened and each of the filmmakers will speak about their films during the "Native American Student Stories Showcase" on May 1.

Films to be screened are: "The Chiefs' Prophecy" Survival of the Northern Cheyenne Nation by Leo Killsback; "Changes from Within: A Navajo Reflection" by Nicholas Taylor; and "Sons of Two Cultures" by Sarah Fendenheim.

The screening will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday at the University of Arizona's Gallagher Theater, which is located in the Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E. University Blvd.Also, an encore broadcast of "The Chiefs' Prophecy" will show May 9 on UA Channel at 5 p.m.

This special screening of highlights is presented by Arizona Public Media in partnership with UA Native American Student Affairs and the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

The event is open to the public and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each of the students completed their films as part of the Citizen Journalism project through Arizona Public Media. The UA media organization launched the program earlier this year in conjunction with the presentation of the "American Experience: We SHALL REMAIN," a PBS television series about the American Indian experience.

The series, which is presented through a partnership with the UA's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and the Bert W. Martin Foundation, will air on Monday's at 9 p.m. through May 11.

The Citizen Journalism program is a community-based series that puts professional television cameras, methods and production support into the hands of non-professional citizens who create films offering personal perspectives on important topics.

The film by Killsback, a member of the Cheyenne Nation and a graduate student in the UA's American Indian Studies program, takes a look at the "Sweet Medicine" laws that are in use by Northern Cheyenne National tribal elders.

"I think an outsider would have told an entirely different story," Killsback said.

"They would have told a story that didn't pay much attention to the contemporary issues and problems of our people," he said. "Our spirituality and culture are ancient – those teachings of peace, virtue, generosity, kindness, humbleness. All these virtues can be applied and should be applied every day, not just in our culture, but in every culture."

Taylor, a member of the Navajo Nation, filmed a reflective piece about life on the reservation in northern Arizona compared to life at the University and the difficulties faced when traversing two worlds.

Fendenheim, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, documented the lives of three sons whose mother was of American Indian heritage and whose father was of a German lineage. The three men talk about issues of mixed race identity.

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