November is National Native American History month. This past weekend was Richmond’s Native American Storytellers Film Festival, Pocahontas Reframed. As evidenced by the events and films showcased this weekend, the festival, “stems from a passion and desire for indigenous languages, cultures, and societies to thrive.”

Themes from the Storytellers Film Festival

From a film by Edward S. Curtis from 1914 that has been remastered, through shorts films, to full-length feature films––all focus was on sharing insights into the Indian experience (both past and present). A few themes stood out. A history shared is a history embraced. Storytelling is a human experience that we need to nurture, not suppress. All voices matter if we are to progress.

Enabling Authentic Storytelling

To help these themes become reality, it means empowering those who can tell their stories authentically. It means allowing room for other voices on the page, behind the camera, or at the microphone. It means providing funding. And education. Pamela Pierce, CEO of Silver Bullet Productions is doing all three. Her organization provides workshops for tribal students to teach them film-making, production, and storytelling. All the equipment––cameras, laptops, and more––are provided and then given to the students so they can then create using their voices.

As Adrian Baker states in his film INJUNUITY, “In a world searching for answers it is time we turned to Native wisdom for guidance.”

What Native wisdom or story guides you? Or do you seek more?

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