Industry Insider: Native American Filmmaking Reinvented with Cherokee Film
Cherokee Film is an entertainment organization founded and run by the principal chief, Chuck Hoskin Jr. The motto of the company is, “creating a better, more inclusive life for the next seven generations”. Cherokee Film is centered around the evolving Native American representation in film and media and prioritizes authentic storytelling from the Native perspective delivered by indigenous filmmakers. The central hubs for the organization are spread across Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribes recognized in the United States. As many as 141,000 citizens residing on the nation’s reservation land. Cherokee Film’s four sectors cover a wide range of filmmaking resources such as: Cherokee Film Institute, Cherokee Film Studios, Cherokee Film Productions, Cherokee Film Commision.
Cherokee Film Institute is an educational feature under the brand that allows for the training of Native American and local filmmaking talent. The institute also introduces opportunities for careers within Cherokee Nation’s media industry. Foresting a rotational economic drive within the nation as a means to support the internal ecosystem.
Cherokee Film Studio is a physical means to deliver the production of media. Including production offices and support services for external clients to use the materials as well.
Cherokee Film Productions serves as a distribution system that develops and promotes the company’s content created within the studio sector. Osiyo: Voices of the Cherokee People is a documentary style series produced within the Cherokee Film brand. The series is meant to educate views on Cherokee history, traditions, and culture. There are in depth episodes catered to explaining ceremonial turtle shell shakers and the search for the mythical phenomenon, Cherokee Bigfoot. The series began in 2014 with Amanda Clinton, Jennifer Loren, Jeremy Charles and Sterlin Harjo at the helm of the project and has won awards at the regional emmy awards, Telly Awards, and international film festivals. Currently Osiyo has run for 9 seasons and is available on the Osiyo website, Youtube, FNX, Oeta, RSUTV, and AR PBS.
Cherokee Film Commision is a source that connects filmmakers to locations, talent, and more resources at the nation’s disposal. These directories are unique to Cherokee Film as it is the first certified Native American film commission office in the United States. The existence of this sector encourages veracious indigenous representation in front of and behind the screen. As represented by the news segment that provides updates on the entertainment industry in relation to culturally Native American involved projects. Through these partnerships the sector is able to continuously see a performance of $1 million rebate annually.
Cherokee Film’s initiative to impact the greater American culture by highlighting indigenous narratives demonstrates a tenacity. Although the Cherokee Nation in particular holds a fairly smaller population, this organization has been a valuable asset for the expansion of all Native people in the entertainment industry.
