May 7, 2019 - Nikki Sanchez: Being Indigenous in the 21st Century: Media and Culture

May 7th 2019

From May 10th - 12th 2019, Tribal leaders, activists, change-makers and artists will be convening in Houston, TX for the first Indigenous Peoples Movement conference.

Last Real Indians co-editor Matt Remle recently connected with Nikki Sanchez, who will be presenting at the conference, about media and Indigenous identity, lack of representation of Native peoples in the media and issues she's currently working on.

Tell us about yourself?

I am a Maya/Pipil and Irish/Scottish media maker, academic, decolonial educator and community organizer who is committed to working at the central intersections of representation and advocacy regarding Indigenous issues and to ensure that settler organizations, institutions, funding bodies, and governments enact decolonized, mutually beneficial and accountable programming when working with Indigenous communities and on Indigenous issues.

You'll be one of the featured speakers at the upcoming Indigenous Peoples Movement conference, what will you be presenting on?

I will be attending the IPM conference as both a participant and a workshop facilitator. As a presenter, I will be co-facilitating the workshop "Being Indigenous in the 21st Century: Media and Culture" with Marjua Estevez and Janice Torres.

In this workshop, we will explore the impact media has had on culture and Indigenous identity and the reciprocal ways each of these components interacts with one another. Specifically, I will be speaking to the lack of representation and the saturation of (mis)representation of Indigenous people and culture in mainstream media. I will also be offering an analysis of the evolution of media, and how it has historically manifested social consequences for Indigenous peoples throughout the advent of visual media.

Additionally, I will be presenting some examples of the recent work I have done in a mainstream media space to create opportunities for the autonomy of creative say and representation for Indigenous media makers, as well as creating Indigenous made media that disrupts prevalent and harmful narratives regarding Indigenous peoples and issues.

What issues are you currently working on?

My work is currently focused on the creation of access to media, training, and representation for Indigenous creators and storytellers. This year I worked on the creation of the first-ever STORYHIVE film funding program created exclusively for Indigenous storytellers; within which we funded 30 emerging filmmakers to make their film projects a reality. Prior to this, my most recent media project was the creation of an 8-part documentary TV series called RISE, produced with VICE. This project was a global representation of 21st-century Indigenous resurgence movements. I also work on land rights and environmental protection through my work as an environmental spokesperson for the David Suzuki Foundation. I am also working on the preservation of biodiversity by authoring a book on Orca whales for the Royal BC Museum. Additionally, I am completing my Ph.D. with a research focus on the intersection of Indigenous ontology and emerging visual media technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

How can people support, or learn more, about your work?

You can learn more about my work by checking out my recent TEDx talk, entitled "Decolonization is for Everyone". You can follow the Indigenous media creation program I have been working on at STORYHIVE.com and you can see the trailer for the VICELAND series RISE I worked on here. You can also stay in touch with me on Twitter and Instagram @Nikkilaes.

Nikki Sanchez is a Pipil/Maya and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker and environmental educator. Nikki holds a masters degree in Indigenous Governance and is presently completing a Ph.D. with a research focus on emerging visual media technology as it relates to Indigenous ontology.

She is currently overseeing the first ever Indigenous Storyteller edition with Telus STORYHIVE; a project to provide funding and mentorship for 30 emerging Indigenous filmmakers in BC and Alberta. For the past two years, Nikki has been the David Suzuki Foundation’s "Queen of Green" (queenofgreen.ca) where her work centered on environmental journalism, social media and digital media creation to provide sustainable solutions for a healthy planet, as well as content creation to bring more racial and gender inclusivity into the environmental movement.

As an Indigenous media maker, Nikki's most recent project is the 8-part documentary VICELAND series “RISE” focused on global Indigenous resurgence. RISE was debuted at Sundance in February 2017 and has received global critical acclaim, recently winning "best documentary" at the Canadian screen awards. Nikki is a TEDx speaker, her recent presentation is entitled “Decolonization is for Everyone”.

She has been a wilderness guide and environmental educator in the Nuu-chah-nulth territory of Clayoquot Sound for over 10 years, where she was mentored by Nuu-chah-nulth elders Tsahsiits and Qaamina Sam. She is the creator and director of "Decolonize Together" a collective of Indigenous women who offer decolonial and inclusivity workshops and curriculum creation.

Decolonize Together has been teaching and facilitating decolonization and anti-oppression training for universities, school boards, corporations, and NGOs for the past five years.

by Wakíƞyaƞ Waánataƞ (Matt Remle)

Matt Remle (Lakota) is an editor and writer for Last Real Indians and LRInspire and the co-founder of Mazaska Talks. Follow @wakiyan7