A documentary film produced on the Wind River Reservation will air on PBS stations around the country on Monday, November 11.
"The Art Of Home: A Wind River Story" features Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho actor Sarah Ortegon and Northern Arapaho and Seneca beadwork artist Ken Williams Jr., who have roots on the Wind River Reservation but live and work in far-away cities. The film follows them as they return to Wind River to share their artwork and re-connect with their communities.
"It tells a story about Native art, and how it's important to the individuals who make it and the communities they come from," said producer Jordan Dresser, who is a citizen of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
Dresser worked on the film alongside director Mat Hames. The two collaborated on another PBS documentary that focused on the Wind River Reservation, called What Was Ours, which premiered on PBS in 2017.
Between those two documentaries and a recent film called Arapaho Truths produced at St. Stephen's School, Dresser said the Reservation is becoming something of a hub for filmmaking.
"People want to tell stories here. And what's good is that it's us, as Native people, we're telling our stories. We're getting to do that," Dresser said. "It's exciting to me that people are getting to hear stories from Wind River in a positive way."
You can catch "The Art of Home" on Wyoming PBS at 8 p.m. MST on Monday, or steam it at pbs.org.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Savannah Maher, at smaher4@uwyo.edu.