Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
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NATIVE AMERICAN PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS announces openings for positions available on two 90-minute documentary features. We are seeking producer/directors, directors of photography, sound recordists, writers, editors, production assistants and an associate producer. Job descriptions are attached.

Native Americans in the 21st Century will focus on the struggle for identity as told through two dramatic narrative documentaries about specific tribes or, in the case of the cities, the struggle to keep specific tribal identities alive. These two films will be character driven, and will, in the course of 90 minutes, reveal many of the themes facing Indian people today including gaming, sovereignty, language preservation, blood quantum, treaty rights, health and efforts to restore traditional culture. These themes will be seen from the inside of the narrative out. Rather than the films being driven by the issues, the issues will be driven by the characters.

One of the films is set in Cherokee, North Carolina among the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, where tourism, gaming, isolation and 500 years of European contact have had indelible effects. The characters of our drama are plain folk?a Baptist minister, a store front Indian chief, two local barbers, a young militant, a traditional elder and a modern, socially conscious woman politician, a high school football player, his girlfriend and his little brother. Their extended families and the larger community give texture and detail. These are American Indians in the 21st century.

The other film is set among the largest U.S. urban Indian population according to the 2000 Census ? Los Angeles. Finding the reality of the Indian experience in Los Angeles is a genuine creative journey, which does not offer itself up as easily as it does on a reservation or even a smaller more cohesive city like Phoenix or Minneapolis. The three main segments of this film are the search for the Gabrieleno tribe and the modern revival of the Pechanga, a relocated Navajo family and their friends and the rise of the powwow culture, and the role of Hollywood in the creation of the modern Indian.

Set to begin production in mid to late summer, the films will require the ability to be on location from 4-6 weeks. Post-production will take place from November 2002 through spring, 2003. We will be assembling a separate team for each film. If you would like to be considered for a position(s), send a letter, resume and recent vhs work sample to: Native Americans in the 21st Century, c/o NAPT, Post Office Box 83111, Lincoln, NE 68501.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY, MAY 10th, 2002.