Lawrence Johnson is highly respected by Native American tribes for his cultural sensitivity and knowledge, as well as his collaborative skills with Native American people. He also has demonstrated the high standard of his production skills and a gift for scripting.
Johnson’s radio program Work Is Our Joy won the 1991 golden Reel for Local Documentary from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. His work may be seen in museums and Native American cultural centers all over the country. He produced the audio/visual programming for the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Washington State History Museum, and the Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming.
Hatiya – Voices of the Umatilla Indian Reservation was his first work and dealt with Native Americans. His oral history-based programs Remembering Uniontown, Steam Whistle Logging, and Work Is Our Joy are noted works in Northwest history. His programs for the exhibition Sacred Encounters – Father De Smet and the Indians of the Rocky Mountain West won the 1995 Golden Muse Award of the American Association of Museums. Many of his films have focused on ecological science and history and culture of the west.
Currently, Johnson is at work on a personal documentary about his father’s death. See www.harvestofshadows.com. His company website is www.museummediainc.com.