KSUT, with partners Rocky Mountain PBS (RMPBS), Vision Maker Media, and the Durango Independent Film Festival (DIFF) will present the first Native Lens Media Fellowship in Durango, Colo., Sunday, Feb. 26, through Saturday, March 4. Part of the Native Lens initiative, the fellowship is a training program for young Native American adults, offering hands on experience in filmmaking, public media distribution, networking, and training about film financing through non-profits such as Vision Maker Media.

Participants will create two projects, from planning to delivery during the weeklong fellowship. They will premiere at the Durango Independent Film Festival as part of a showcase of Native Lens stories. This free showcase takes place Saturday, March 4, at the Durango Arts Center at 5 p.m. Meet the Native Lens Fellowship participants and other DIFF filmmakers at a public reception that afternoon at the Sorrel Sky Gallery from 3 – 4:30 p.m.

Native Lens

Native Lens is a collaboration between Rocky Mountain PBS, KSUT, and the Colorado Health Foundation to amplify Native American voices during the pandemic. The initial concept allowed for the evolution of a program that now seeks to empower Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and First Nations people – through grassroots, first-person, narratives. This has fostered the production and distribution of dozens of stories from individuals since 2020, which continue to be submitted and finalized for publication. The success of this program, combined with the launch of the Tribal Media Center in Ignacio, has allowed Native Lens to expand its mission by offering hands-on media trainings, such as the Native Lens Fellowship, and other educational opportunities in the Four Corners and beyond.

 

The Fellowship Partners

KSUT is a community-supported public broadcasting organization dedicated to serving the multicultural community of the Four Corners by providing eclectic entertainment, education, in-depth news and community and public information services promoting multicultural awareness and understanding through two terrestrial signals: Four Corners Public Radio and Tribal Radio.

Four Corners Public Radio can be heard at 90.1 FM in Durango & La Plata County; 89.3 in Central Durango; 88.1 in Pagosa Springs, Farmington and Northwest New Mexico; 106.3 in Cortez, Mancos, and Montezuma County; and 91.1 in Silverton.

Tribal Radio can be heard at 91.3 FM in Ignacio, and on Southern Ute and Jicarilla Apache tribal lands; 89.7 in Farmington, Northwest New Mexico and Navajo tribal lands; and 100.9 in Towaoc and on Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands.

Listeners can also stream both KSUT signals at www.ksut.org and www.tribalradio.org.

Rocky Mountain PBS is Colorado’s first public television station and is now Colorado’s only statewide television network, with stations in Denver, Pueblo/Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction and Durango. RMPBS serves over a million Coloradans by providing provocative and inspiring local, national, and international programming.

Vision Maker Media is a non-profit from Lincoln, Neb. that works with Native producers to develop, produce, and distribute programs through public broadcasting. In addition to helping produce content Vision Maker Media works with established Native filmmakers to help educate the next generation of Indigenous storytellers through workshops and fellowships like their collaboration with Native Lens.

The Durango Independent Film Festival began in 2006 and works to showcase a wide variety of independent films for the community – including Native American cinema and outdoor/adventure cinema. In addition to the festival, DIFF works to bring film education and appreciation to local schools with their REEL Learning School Program.