The Native American TV series, Discovering Our Story Television Program, featured Deana Dartt, Ph.D. and Curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum on Sunday, October 7 at 1 PM on Comcast Channel 11.
Having earned her MA and PhD from the University of Oregon, Deana was appointed Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington and the Curator of Native American Ethnology at the Burke Museum. She is currently on leave from that position. Her research focuses on the disruption of a public memory shaped largely by museum narratives crafted by curators and anthropologists, and democratizing the museum to underscore Native histories and contemporary realities.
This television series is produced by Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (Wisdom) and airs live the first Sunday of every month at 1:00 PM on Comcast Channel 11 in Portland, Oregon. Recorded programs are broadcast twice a month on the following Tuesday at 10:00 pm on Channel 22; and the following Friday at 9:00 am on Channel 23. Viewers can also stream our programs at discoveringourstory.org .
The Discovering Our Story Television series was created because Native Americans and their history have been misrepresented in the media. Hollywood, including popular Disney films like Pocahontas and others, continue to perpetuate false images of Indians as threatening aggressors, alcoholics, dying or ‘vanishing’ Indians, or as passive, wise sages. They rarely portray Native people within healthy and resilient multi-generational families. This has created confusing, negative impressions in the minds of Native Americans and others.
In response, an increasing number of films and documentaries are being produced by Native American filmmakers that accurately and authentically tell tribal stories and oral histories. This has helped to strengthen the identity and resiliency of Native peoples and increase pride in their rich tribal heritage. It has also provided public audiences with unprecedented access to and knowledge of authentic and diverse history and cultural arts of tribes, and strengthened their understanding and appreciation for today’s First Peoples.
Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (WISDOM) and several teams of volunteers produce this 1-hour cable television program at Portland Community Media TV. Funding has been provided by Multnomah County’s Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission and the Regional Arts and Culture Council and provides opportunities for multi-generational Native teams to train as volunteers in videography, post-production editing, and television studio production.
The program hosts are Bill Ray (Klamath) and Nico Wind (Assiniboine/Ojibwe). Executive Producer is Rose High Bear (Deg Hit’an Dine). Producer is Daniel Dixon (Menominee/Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican). Video segments produced by Toby Joseph (Apache, Southern Ute, Navajo), Myron Lameman (Cree), Peta Mni, and Daniel Dixon. TV production team members include William Ward, Clark Salisbury, Debra Clayton (St. Croix Chippewa), Ezra Whitman, Jefferson Greene, CarlaDean Caldera-Winishut, Willie Towner, and CJ Clayton (St. Croix Chippewa).
Wisdom, a Portland area 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, is committed to Native American cultural sustainability, multimedia education, and race reconciliation. Wisdom records and preserves oral tradition and cultural arts of exemplary indigenous elders, storytellers, cultural leaders and environmentalists, and shares their messages with Native Americans and public audiences of all cultures. Projects include the Discovering Our Story Project, Wisdom of the Elders Radio Program, k-12 curriculum materials, the Northwest Indian Storytellers Association which sponsors annual storytelling festivals, and Turtle Island Storytellers Network. For more info or to volunteer, e-mail Daniel Dixon at daniel@wisdomoftheelders.org.