Vision Maker Media’s (VMM) mission is empowering and engaging Native people to share stories. The organization envisions a world changed and healed by understanding Native stories and the public conversations they generate. VMM’s educational programs help achieve this goal by sparking dialogue and deepening awareness of Native life and culture through the Native American Film Series and iNative Shorts for Kids.
On October 13, the Native American Film Series at The Ross Theater will feature “Words from a Bear.” The film examines the life and mind of Kiowa writer and National Medal of Arts recipient Navarro Scott Momaday, and takes viewers through the expansive landscapes of the West where his Kiowa ancestors once lived. Momaday, one of North America’s most celebrated authors of poetry and prose, wrote “House Made of Dawn,” which won a Pulitzer Prize and helped set the stage for Native American literature to become accepted into the mainstream.
For free tickets, visit (theross.org).
VMM’s iNative Shorts for Kids is a series on its YouTube channel, featuring short, curated videos from VMM’s extensive film archive. October’s episodes focus on the theme “Identity Matters.” Excerpts from “What was Ours” show tribal members reclaiming sacred artifacts, while scenes from “Return” document Native women revitalizing traditional foodways. Both films demonstrate how reconnecting with tangible cultural heritage is a powerful act of defining and strengthening the modern Native identity.
Explore the series at (youtube.com/@iNativeShortsforKids)