Echo Hawk: Last News

wcinkala pmc-editorial-manager Variety and IllumiNative are partnering with SXSW to host a panel on the importance of Native American representation in Hollywood. The event, held at Moonshine Grill from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, will include a one-on-one conversation with Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, followed by a conversation with Lashay Wesley, director of communications and storytelling at IllumiNative, and Patrick Smith, executive producer at DIGA, about IllumiNative’s new podcast, “American Genocide: The Crimes of Native American Boarding Schools.” The podcast examines the atrocities and human rights violations committed against Native children at Native American Boarding Schools and follows Crystal and Lashay as they investigate and search for answers and justice at Red Cloud Indian School, a former boarding school in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Both conversations will be moderated by Cynthia Littleton, co-editor-in-chief, Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: Nielsen, the audience measurement, data and analytics organization unveiled today the findings of their case studies on Native content at a panel discussion in the Indigenous House at Sundance Film Festival, presented by , the Native woman-led social justice organization dedicated to building visibility and representation for Native peoples. 

Native American-themed films and TV shows have been on the rise recently – Ava DuVernay and Bird Runningwater are developing a dramatic series for NBC about the struggles and triumphs of an Indigenous family – but Hollywood has a long way to go to include Native Americans into its storylines.