Spectacular digital photography such as this image of the Northern Lights by Nancy Grant of IIisagvik College is one example of how Indigeverse showcases TCU artistic expression.

For decades, Native artists, activists, and educators have been working to give voice to Indigenous perspectives, values, and ways of knowing and to bring attention and change to the way Native people are represented in the media. These topics were central to discussions throughout the 2022 Indigeverse Multimedia Festival hosted by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s (AIHEC’s) Indigenous Design Collective (IDC).

The IDC was established to provide a forum for exploring and encouraging new ways to create media content from an Indigenous perspective, engage in dialogue, foster collaboration, and promote ideas. Established in 2020 by AIHEC in partnership with Iḷisaġvik College, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, and Ontario College of Art and Design University, the IDC soon began engaging faculty from other TCUs as well as those interested in Indigenous media, including artists, educators, researchers, and media developers. Each stakeholder brings a diverse set of tools, skills, and interests in exploring the many possibilities for creative expression that digital media affords. The IDC meets regularly, and members are encouraged to pitch ideas to find support and collaborators for their projects.

The IDC developed Indigeverse in 2022 as a successor to the 2021 Thunder InDIGIfest hosted by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. With digital media competitions, workshops, and panel presentations, Indigeverse provided a rich exploration of the Native digital media space.

TCU students, faculty, and staff submitted entries in the form of video, short film, animation, podcast, photography, music, poetry, and academic papers. The projects selected for recognition continue to be showcased on the official Indigeverse website. programming also included special screenings from established Indigenous artists and production companies, such as California Pow Wow and Hoopa Valley: Loneliness, a Shadow Pandemic by First Nations Experience; Bring Her Home, including a Q&A session with director Leya Hale; and finally, Inhabitants: Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring Our World by directors Costa Boutsikaris and Anna Palmer.

The festival hosted multiple Indigenousled panels on media and digital culture, new and alternative technologies, media education, and strategies for growing a stronger Native presence in media. Over 20 guest speakers participated in these panels, several of which tribal college students moderated.

Steven Paul Judd was invited to speak on the impact of Indigenous media on tribal cultural knowledge and new and emerging directions for Native creators. Judd is a filmmaker, director, writer, and visualist who decided he wanted to make art that represented who he is. Describing the evolution of his perspective on media, Judd stated, “If you would have told me when I was a kid that I was looking for people . . . that look like me I would have thought that was psychobabble.” It wasn’t until he got older that Judd realized that he was indeed looking for something to relate to. “I was even watching problematic representations of Native people, just happy to see it. I was so happy to see someone that I thought looked like someone from my family. If there was a show with an Asian person or Hispanic person, I was always rooting for them because, like yeah, that looks like my uncle or something, you know? So I thought man, you know what? When I grow up, I’m gonna make stuff that I want to see. But I’m gonna make Native stuff that I never got to see.” During his talk Judd shared details of his journey to become an accomplished artist who is a member of the Writers Guild of America and who served as a staff writer for Disney’s XD comedy series Zeke and Luther.

Anthony Deiter, assistant professor of cinematic arts, gaming, and virtual environments at the Institute of American Indian Arts, stated in his welcome speech at Indigeverse that “industry is coming to Native America. I can tell you that from personal experience. The world is ready for a long-awaited voice. And that voice is your voice. Those voices are your stories. perhaps we’ll get to tell our stories.”

Native film has come a long way in the past 50 years. Today, we have movies and shows like Reservation Dogs that not only feature Native actors in front of the camera but are written and produced by Natives. This is an emerging media landscape that the IDC works to promote by fostering a collaborative environment within which the next generation of Native storytellers, innovators, and visionaries can flourish.

Looking to Indigeverse 2023, the IDC is planning a hybrid virtual/in-person event to make it accessible to all. Workshops, classes, coaching, and other types of support are being made available to TCU staff, faculty, and students planning to participate in Indigeverse competitions. For more information about Indigeverse and how to get involved with the Indigenous Design Collective, please visit indigeverse.org