Indigenous Cinematics- Film
Power to the People
Power to the People is a television documentary series that explores the renewable energy revolution empowering Indigenous communities across Canada and around the world. In each episode, host Melina Laboucan-Massimo uncovers fascinating renewable energy or sustainable living projects. From revolutionary wind farms, solar power plants, run-of-river hydroelectric projects and tidal energy initiatives, Melina explores the challenges, simplifies the science, and showcases the benefit for the community and for humanity.
okiskeyihtamasowak ayisiniwak oma cakastepayiwin: ayisiniwak okiskeyitamasowin, wapahtewewak ita kanitonamihk kwotak nanatohk kakayawisiwin ta miyo apacihtahk ota asawaskiy Canada ekwa misiweskamik. Melina Laboucan-Massimo owehewew paskinam pwastawac kihtwam kakayawisiwin pimacih apacihcihkana ta mamaskatamihk. ohi kakayawisiwina ka otinamihk yotin sipwepicikana, pisimihk, sipiyeya ka sipwepitamihk wasakapayiwin, waskotepayowina ekwa okihcikami iskipipayikwa ohci, netawaskew ohi ka ayimahkwaw, testiwihcasitaw ohi ayinisewewina ekwa wapahtewew tansi ta isi miyo apahcihtahk.
Watch Power to the People on APTN
English: Mondays at 2:00am & 12:30pm ET, Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET, Wednesdays at 2:00am & 1:30pm ET
Cree: Thursdays at 7:00am ET
TAKE THE ENERGY QUIZ: http://powertothepeople.tv/energy-quiz/
Photo from Power to the People
About the host: Melina Laboucan-Massimo
As a member of the Lubicon Lake Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Melina Laboucan-Massimo saw the effects of oil and gas development on her traditional territory and decided to be a force for change.
After a decade as a Climate and Energy Campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, Melina was appointed the first Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change fellow by the David Suzuki Foundation in 2017 where she researched how Indigenous communities can make meaningful contributions to sustainable climate solutions. Today she is one of Canada’s leading voices on climate change, a rising star in the international environmental movement, and a much sought after speaker on the future of alternative energy.
Now Melina brings her passion and curiosity to Power to the People, where she is using her unique background and cultural insights to help us interpret the science, and understand how new renewable energy and sustainability initiatives can take us all one step further along the path to a post carbon future.
Indigenous + Actor + Goddess= Sivan Rose
Photo by Leah Rose for Indigenous Goddess Gang
Actress Sivan Alyra Rose
Sivan Alyra Rose, born Sivan Alyra Rose Rambler, is an Apache/Puerto Rican actress, runway model and exhibited artist. Sivan is the first Native American female lead of television series "Chambers" on Netflix, starring alongside Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn. She was raised just outside of Phoenix, Arizona on the San Carlos Apache reservation by her mother and grandmother. She was discovered modeling at the Santa Fe Indian Market at the age of 16.
Sivan's personal alternative aesthetics highlight her glam goth style and affinity for the style of abstract art. Sivan exhibited her own skateboard art titled "Hypnotize" at the Silver and Turquoise Ball in April 2016 benefiting the Phoenix Indian Center. Sivan has been inspired by Marley Mitch (MUA), Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In August 2017, Sivan attended the Institute of American Indian Arts studying Studio Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There she would meet student director Mark Lewis filming the short film "The Entrada" who would cast her as the lead in a horror story about a museum holding Native artifacts. By December 2017, Sivan would move to Los Angeles to transfer college, pursue her acting and modeling career.
In March 2018 casting director Rene Haynes, who Sivan met in high school, would reach out to her to audition for the lead of an American Film Institute project "Running Shadow" directed by Carlos Betancourt. "Running Shadow" is a short fiction film about a young Lakota woman battling grief over her sister's suicide and pursuing competitive running. The film released in Fall 2018.
Sivan is passionate about utilizing her platform to raise awareness about Native American issues especially the need for mental health care support and resources for Native American youth.
Sivan is also a featured model in our fashion section!
Follow Sivan @sivanalyrarose
Interview from: Times Are Hard for Dreamers: Sivian Alyra Rose x The Laterals(another amazing magazine, check em out):
Sivan Alyra Rose is no debutante beneficiary of Hollywood. She grew up right outside of Phoenix on the San Carlos Apache reservation, raised by her mother and grandmother. Unlike those bequest into the industry, Sivan was discovered at 16 years-old, modeling at the Santa Fe Indian Market. This comes as no surprise because Sivan is absolutely captivating. What's even more remarkable than her exceptional good looks is her unique aesthetic; a goth-glam extrinsic projection of the visionary within. Her unconventional upbringing impressed an affinity for abstract art and a passion for civil issues. In 2016, Sivan drew inspiration from Marley Mitchell, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat to exhibit "Hypnotize", her collection of skateboard art in support of the Phoenix Indian Center. A year later, she attended the Institute of American Indian Arts where she was cast as the lead in a short horror story called The Entrada. This was the inception of her artistic odyssey into film and television.
If you are looking for the origin of where nightmares are born, the new series Chambers on Netflix is as ambitious as the material implies. As the newcomer taking stage, Sivan adopts the leading role of a heart attack survivor who becomes beset by the mystery that surrounds the heart she was implanted with. As she gets closer to the donor's parents, played by Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn, things become increasingly disturbing. And to be completely honest, terrifying. In an unpredicted yet novel fashion, the narrative subtly uncovers the intricate dynamics between Native and non-Native America. Veiled behind ominous tropes is an imperative conversation about indigenous culture and appropriation. Sivan's performance is arrestingly mercurial, captivating, superbly relentless, and literally heart-wrenching. Needless to say, we love it when Sivan Alyra Rose acts up.
What was it like when you discovered modeling at the Santa Fe Indian Market?
It was mundane in comparison to the story of how I became Sasha, but it’s just as special and close to my heart. I had gotten the email to a casting director, just through the photographer roundup after a show, I received a self-tape audition months later and I’m sure I bombed it. Years later (18) that same casting director, Rene Haynes, was the one to point me towards Netflix! I believe in genuine contacts and relationships, so I’m humbled she’s even believed in me this long.
You previously studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Tell us what art means to you.
Art is the base of everything I do. I’m an emotional being and I care deeply. It’s too much sometimes. Art has been the only “thing” too ever soothe me till the next day. The only thing that's not served with side à la alprazolam that is.
Share with us how you got into acting. Is it something you always wanted to do or was there a “moment” where it came together?
I’m a scholar at heart. I fucking love books. Reading is dope, crack is whack. Through (multiple) language education classes I was taught how to read past the text and how to go on and on for paragraphs about dimes, nickels, and oranges. I was good at it too. I love scripts because they’re like books, I love screenplay because it’s like brain sex creating a full and thorough story in your mind. Sorry, didn’t mean too get so heated. ;)
We are so excited about your new series Chambers, coming out on Netflix. Tell us everything about it.
Chambers is a contemporary indigenous horror story. Here to creep you out with blood, holes and glass. Chambers also doesn't forget the horrors of everyday life. White privilege, cultural appropriation, suicide, broken families, and the biggest horror of them all: a teenage girl. Bad things happen for a reason. I hope you're ready.
Tell us about the incredible cast and crew you got to work with. What was one of your favorite behind-the-scenes moments?
Umz (Uma Thurman) gave me what I thought at the time was just a simple shawl, to keep warm, and to keep safe, while she was off doing her scene. I love flowy scarves because flowy scarves you can spin round and round and round like a fancy shawl dancer. Around all this craft food, sharp grip carts, and a whole bunch of fun dangerous stuff. I just thank my deadly sins that when it was returned, it was clean and in one piece. However, in my defense. I didn’t know I was imagining myself in a dance battle for the pow wow princess title in an expensive Hermès shawl. 10/10 on the flow-y ness, would do again.
Did working on this project allow you to see yourself or your craft in a different light?
As a newcomer, it was like acting boot camp. I am now ready to withstand the roller coaster of emotions and fire that is Hollywood.
As an Apache/ Puerto Rican woman, what are your thoughts on representation in film and television?
I am San Carlos Apache from my mother's side and quarter-quarter Caribbean/Creole on my father’s side. That’s a lot of brown, I still don’t see much of myself where’d I’d like to. SO, I’m just gonna go ahead and do some of it for myself. Didn’t think I’d become my own biggest fan and biggest critic this early. Quand même. I have some good ideas anyway.
What do you think the industry can do to stay more inclusive?
Just cast us. As ourselves and not ourselves. Yes, we were in the old west Hollywood glamorized, but we’re still alive, still here today. I love Disney movies, but I don’t like Pocahontas. I like Rapunzel more. Why no classic storybook tale, same tropes and fantasy’s as Cinderella but with a Yaqui girl? Up in the tower with blue birds and mice? What would the harm be?
You have exceptional personal style. What your favorite thing to wear growing up? Is this something you would still wear today?
Thank you, I do. I’ve always loved playing “dress up”. I would wear my halloween costumes long into the winter because being a full time graveyard fairy or is pretty cool. I take halloween seriously now as an adult and the costumes have only gotten more extravagant.
We believe you have a brilliant career ahead of you. What do we have to look forward to next?
Wow, thanks. Well you said it best yourself, look forward to some more brilliance.
Thank you so much for spending time with us. Last but not least, would you agree with Andy Warhol when he said, “Art is what you can get away with?”
Aho! You can never take this life too seriously.
While growing up on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in southeastern Arizona, Sivan Alyra Rose developed a unique flair for fashion and a talent for art. In August 2017, she entered the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she planned to study studio art. As luck would have it, the freshman was promptly cast in a classmate’s short film and another passion was born. By December, Rose left school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in modeling and acting. She made her debut in the 2018 short film, Running Shadow, in which she played a Lakota woman grappling with feelings of personal guilt about her sister’s suicide while chasing a dream of competitive running. The first Native American woman to star in a Netflix series, Rose now leads the cast (which also includes Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn) of Chambers, a supernatural drama in which her complicated character is a heart transplant recipient who mysteriously begins to display some less-than-virtuous traits that belonged to her organ donor.
Unceded Stills Spotlight:
Seneca-Cayuga filmmaker Erica Tremblay’s film “Little Chief” was selected AFI Fest Official Selection! Congratulations Erica!
Bird Runningwater’s- In the Center: Indigenous Filmmakers Share Messages of Hope During Covid-19
In June, Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache)—director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program—wrote about the sweeping effects of Covid-19 on Native communities around the U.S. In his piece, he pointed to the many ways in which Indigenous artists have been seeking strength in the ways of their ancestors.
“Our daily routines have changed,” Bird reflects. “Our lives have altered in ways that may never again be what they once were. The way we work individually and as part of a team has changed. But throughout history, Indigenous peoples always have had to adapt to changing times.” And for filmmakers and artists, adapting to changing times means finding new ways to tell their stories.
That’s the basis for the program’s new series, In the Center: In partnership with IllumiNative’s #WarriorUp project, we’ll be sharing a video from a different Indigenous Program alum each week. Through their dispatches from around the country, you’ll learn about the physical and emotional toll the pandemic has had and see how people are banding together and reconnecting with their families, their land, and their community.
IN THE CENTER #1: Shaandiin Tome (Diné)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when so many of us find ourselves physically isolated from our loved ones, a simple phone call can provide a welcome source of human connection. In her In the Center video, Albuquerque, New Mexico–based filmmaker Shaandiin Tome recorded her father sharing some important wisdom from her great-grandmother, who belonged to the Navajo Nation. “Wealth is defined in the proliferation of human life—that’s where you’re wealthy,” Shaandin’s great-grandmother would say—a message that’s just as important today.
IN THE CENTER #2: Kyle Bell (Creek-Thlopthlocco Tribal Town)
In his In the Center video, Tulsa, Oklahoma–based filmmaker Kyle Bell talks about how hard it can feel sometimes to find inspiration amid the isolation of the global pandemic. Through these difficult times, he’s looked to the resilience of previous generations as he maintains his artistic practice. “Through all the hardships my ancestors went through, they still managed to pass down their stories, language, and songs to the next generation, and with film as my art, I can only hope to do the same,” he says, turning his lens on Madison, a young painter in his community.
Before Covid-19’s arrival, Oʻahu played host to more than ten million visitors every year—approximately ten times the amount of people who actually live there, shares ʻĀina Paikai, a 2013 NativeLab Fellow. As you’ll see in ʻĀina’s video, now that tourism has ground to a standstill, many Indigenous people on the island are seeing an opportunity to look to the values of their ancestors and enact lasting change.
IN THE CENTER #3: Charine Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
This week, filmmaker Charine Gonzales is sharing a project she’s been working on during quarantine: an animated short called Bear News. “It was important to recognize the depression that I was facing and feeling,” says Gonzales, who currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she’s attending the Institute of American Indian Arts. “What I chose to do was a stop motion that really encompassed all my emotions of Covid-19 and how it changed my world in an instant.” In her video, Gonzales also discusses the wider effects the pandemic has had on San Ildefonso Pueblo and how residents have rallied together and found strength in their community.
IN THE CENTER #4: Christopher Nataanii Cegielski (Diné)
“I’m originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, but I’ve been riding out this Covid experience out here in LA,” explains Diné writer/director Christopher Nataani Cegielski. “It’s tough not being able to see my family back at home,” he adds, “and it’s tough to see what the pandemic has been doing to not only the Navajo Nation, but our Native communities all across the country.” In his In the Center video, Nataanii Cegielski connects with his cousin, Shaun Martin, over the phone to talk about the remote work Wings of America has been doing to continue its mission of building healthy Native communities using youth running initiatives during the pandemic.
IN THE CENTER #5: Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga)
Originally from Oklahoma but currently residing in New York, Seneca-Cayuga filmmaker Erica Tremblay has spent much of 2020 unable to visit family and friends—including her mother, whose voicemails make up the sonic backdrop of Tremblay’s In the Center video. “Erica, I’m thinking that you’re not wanting to talk to me,” Tremblay’s mom says in one of many seemingly unanswered messages. “I need to know that you are safe and physically and emotionally well. Call me tonight. I love you.” As the video ends, so, too, does their long game of phone tag—a sweet and satisfying moment for mother, daughter, and viewer alike.
www.sundance.org/blogs/program-spotlight/in-the-center--indigenous-filmmakers-share-messages-of-hope-during-covid-19