‘First Peoples, First Stories’ features films from young Native filmmakers
Vision Maker Media (VMM), the premier source of media by and about Native Americans, announces First Peoples, First Stories, a new series distributed by American Public Television. The series will begin airing on public television in May 2026.
“As Vision Maker Media celebrates fifty years of supporting Native film and filmmakers, our newest series, First Peoples, First Stories, spotlights the impressive talents of a new generation of Indigenous storytellers,” says Vision Maker Media president and CEO Francene Blythe-Lewis (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, Diné, Eastern Band Cherokee). “Each of the short films featured in the series comes from artists who have participated in one or more of Vision Maker Media’s filmmaker development programs, which offer both mentorship opportunities and financial support. We are excited to share their impressive work with public television viewers.”
The inaugural season of First Peoples, First Stories includes four episodes, each featuring a pair of short films by noteworthy emerging Native filmmakers. The first two episodes, listed below, will air in the Spring, with the following two episodes airing this fall.
Episode 1: Cold Nights & Connection
Buffalo Spirit by filmmaker Ivy MacDonald (Blackfeet): Fleeing from a troubled home life, a young Blackfeet woman finds refuge on the buffalo ranch of her Auntie and, in learning to care for the buffalo, begins to heal from the wounds that led her there.
Four Nights and a Fire by filmmaker Alex Nystrom (Ojibwe): A young Ojibwe photographer stubbornly takes on the responsibility of keeping a sacred fire alive for four consecutive days and nights in mourning for his father. His father’s spirit tries to reach him from the other side.
Episode 2: The Ties That Bind
Iiná by filmmaker Lonnie Begaye (Diné): A high school senior works to fix his grandfather’s old truck to get his grandmother to the annual Navajo Nation fair for the last time before she takes her journey.
The Love for the Game by filmmaker Josiah W. Jones (Apache, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Ohkay Owingeh, Kiowa): An injured basketball player, who has lost his love for the game, is guided by an unlikely source, as he tries to reconnect with his younger sister.
For more information about First Peoples, First Stories, or to schedule an interview with Vision Maker Media president and CEO Francene Blythe-Lewis or any of the First Peoples, First Stories featured filmmakers, please contact Chris Kelly, Fifth House Public Relations, at ckelly@fifthhousepr.com