Telling our own story : The aesthetic expression of collective identity in Native American documentary

This study investigates the role of Native American aesthetic practices, as documented and expressed through film and video, in expressing collective identity. The central theoretical problem concerns the relationship between aesthetic systems, new communication media, and processes of collective identification: specifically, the manner by which traditional and contemporary forms of aesthetic expression are incorporated and documented in indigenous documentary. The primary visual medium examined was videotape documentaries made by Native Americans over the last fifteen years. White Americans\u27 images of Indians were analyzed in the context of Native American responses to mainstream media imagery. This analysis drew from two research traditions. A genre analysis of recurring formal properties and thematic elements in native art and media provided a comparative and historical framework for analyzing the documentaries. An ethnographic component of the research focused on the motives, goals, and concerns of Native American producers, directors, and artists. The principle ethnographic setting was the media center of the Salish-Kootenia College on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Formal properties of the videos, especially documentaries by George Burdeau and Victor Masayesva, Jr., were analyzed to determine the possibility of a documentary style unique to Native Americans. Though no single set of formal characteristics defines native media, the documentaries express an Indian sensibility that includes a concern for craftmanship seen in other forms of native expression, a desire to integrate human and natural activity, a personal rather than abstract approach to issues, a heightened awareness of the impact of the past upon the present, and a readiness to adopt new technologies. This research has shown that local and traditional expressive forms need not be undermined by the adoption of new media technologies. Native documentarians tell the stories that constitute the collective memory of their people and document those participatory practices that express commitment to the community. Native media is at the forefront of the struggle for Native American cultural self-determination