Montana is the first state to ban the popular TikTok app over fears it allows the Chinese government to collect information on Americans. The ban is a blow to some Native content creators who express themselves and even draw revenue from TikTok. Filmmaker and TikTok creator Victoria Cheyenne (Northern Cheyenne and Aymara) is among those who testified against the TikTok ban in front of the Montana Legislature.

The headwinds young people are experiencing now, in many respects, reflect those that have faced newcomers to the business for generations. Hollywood has never been renowned for its hospitality to outsiders, beckoning them with the entertainment industry's trademark glamour but leaving many with broken dreams and empty bank accounts.

Still, even some who have been burned by the industry aren't ready to give up on it.

Victoria Cheyenne makes her festival directorial debut with Learning I’m Home, an official selection and award-winner in the Indigenous Documentary Film Challenge.

Documentary film has a long history of inequitable extractive practices often made by outsiders to communities for their personal gain. In this session, hear from experienced Indigenous creators about community-focused and accountable filmmaking practices that center care and reciprocity, leading to respectful collaboration (making films 'with' instead of 'about'), authentic storytelling, and narrative sovereignty that honors the creatives, the subjects, and the audience. Moderated by Tracy Rector of Nia Tero, with panelists including: filmmaker Victoria Cheyenne (Tsitsistas/Aymara), whose film Learning I’m Home is screening at the festival; Ramona Emerson, filmmaker, author, and photographer Ramona Emerson, whose novel Shutter was published in 2022; filmmaker David Hernández Palmar (Wayuu, IIPUANA Clan) from If Not Us Then Who? and Reciprocity Project; Ivan MacDonald (Blackfeet), whose film Snqʷeyłmistn: the place where you do your best is screening at the festival; and more. All of our panelists are members of the Kin Theory community, which you can learn about and join here.

Osage Fashion Designer Dante Biss-Grayson turned heads with his first-ever collection at New York Fashion Week. Michelle Park meets with the Native American Designer to see how he is making a statement with style.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, this conversation is moderated by Crystal Echo Hawk the Founder of IllumiNative, and highlights Indigenous ARRAY Crew Members and their entertainment career journeys.

Moderated by CRYSTAL ECHO HAWK, Founder of IllumiNative.

How do we forgive our mentors? Do we forgive our mentors for abandoning us when we needed them most and leaving us to pick up the pieces? Do we forgive our mentors for not being there at all?

How do I forgive the trauma of abandonment from those I trusted the most? I think instead of those professors who were there for me with care, concern, and advice. I think of the mentors who never stopped being mentors. They know who they are and for them, I’m grateful.

I was failed by a system that allowed bullying to win.

Is that something that I can forgive?

I’m an indigenous documentary and narrative filmmaker and I also work in post-production at Comedy Central I am completely in love with the work that I do.

I grew up in Brookhaven in Atlanta, Georgia surrounded by a booming entertainment scene in film and television. I was fascinated by the worlds of production and post-production and dove headfirst into any set that I could get on. I quickly found the Atlanta film community to be a tight-knit and passionate grouping of hard workers who were so often eager to mentor and educate.