Native American Producer Jhane Myers Hopes To Make History At The 2023 PGA Awards
Jhane Myers - Emma McIntyre
Native American producer Jhane Myers (of the Comanche/Blackfeet Nations) has a track record of making history. In her summer hit Prey, a prequel to the Predator series directed by Dan Trachtenberg, centers on Comanche Nation culture circa the 1700s, showing Myers’ drive to delve deeply into Indigenous life as inspiration for her productions.
Her Producers Guild Award nomination for Prey demonstrates Hollywood's interest in Native American creatives during an awards season where Indigenous presence is undoubtedly better than in previous years. Myers regularly praises her "strong creative bond" with Trachtenberg for opening the door to a representation of Native life that U.S. and global viewers rarely, if ever, see.
Myers argues that most people create their views on Native Americans from a combination of what they see in films and a lacking education about Native Americans in schools, with 27 U.S. states making no mention of Natives in their K-12 curriculum, according to a study from the National Council of American Indians (NCAI). Unfortunately, most of these films weren’t created by Native people, and depict them as murderous savages.
Myers has a long history of elevating Indian voices. She's done public relations and Native audience engagement for films like Apocalypto and Wind River, sales as a Ralph Lauren account executive, and serving as the editor-in-chief for a Native casino and entertainment magazine. Myers has stated repeatedly that she wants to see Native Americans properly represented in the film business. Her drive has resulted in Prey. Myers also designed an internship program for Prey to allow Indigenous people the opportunity to learn how to work as a film crew, in addition to developing a complete historic Comanche dub of the film that featured all the actors' voices and was made in tandem with the original film.
Myers has championed programs that teach Native students the process and business of filmmaking as board president of Silver Bullet Prods., whose aim is to empower Indian youth. Prey, like Reservoir Dogs and Dark Winds, appears to be part of a series of films that continue to feature more Native Americans both in front of and behind the camera.