Indigenous Youth Media Workshop -- The Power of Voice and Image -- Native High School Students Report

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Indigenous Youth Media Workshop: The Power of Voice and Image, Native High School Students Report

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 13, 2023

The Indigenous Youth Media Workshop video reveals the great work by Native high school students, telling the story of cancer from uranium mining and Dine' struggling to find treatment, the struggle to rename a sacred mountain, the gifts of river rafting, and the powerful tools of film, photography and radio for Native youths who are telling their own stories, from Black Mesa to Flagstaff, Arizona, and beyond. Watch the results of their media workshop just released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CElPZYfQddk

Colleen Cooley from Shonto, Dine' mentor and river guide, shares the power and joy of float trips and whitewater rafting on the San Juan River. (Definitely one of the best things you'll ever do in life.) Colleen says its a great way to learn about conservation, camping and more. Canyonlands Field Institute, more at https://cfimoab.org/

Stories within the story, Agassiz Peak, located north of Flagstaff, Arizona, is named after a biologist who used his studies to legitimize racist beliefs about white superiority. Makaius Marks, Dine', and other Native youths are working to change the name to its traditional Hopi name, Öo'mawki. The mountain is sacred to 13 Native American Nations in the region.

Stories within the story, the power of radio. Diyatihi Benally, Dine', daughter of Jeneda Benally of Sihasin, shares why radio is a powerful force for Native voices. "Indigenous YOUth Nation" was started by her mother Jeneda, and shares local Native cultures, with a perspective on world cultures. "Indigenous YOUth Nation is a radio show created to Celebrate Culture, Empower Youth, Nourish Knowledge, Inspire Intergenerational Dialogue, Normalize Culture and build strong roots for our future generations. IYN highlights different Indigenous cultures into a radio show made by, with and for tweens and teens." Workshop with Jeneda on July 16, 2023 

https://kbft.org/event/indigenous-youth-nation-radio-workshop/

Powerful stories within the story. Native high school reporters talk with Dine' Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso from Black Mesa, who began filmmaking at the age of 9 with Outta Your Back Pack Media. She produced her second film, In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman, at the age of 13. Now, she has produced Powerlands. "POWERLANDS, Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, a young Navajo filmmaker, investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment caused by the same chemical companies that have exploited the land where she was born. She travels to the La Guajira region in rural Colombia, the Tampakan region of the Philippines, the Tehuantepec Isthmus of Mexico, and the protests at Standing Rock. In each case, she meets Indigenous women leading the struggle against the same corporations that are causing displacement and environmental catastrophe in her own home. Inspired by these women, Ivey Camille brings home the lessons from these struggles to the Navajo Nation."

Steven Toya, Dine' photographer for Northern Arizona University, shares his love of photography with the media workshop. Toya's photos include documentation of NAU's events, from powwows to scientific endeavors.

Steven Toya's photos inspire Native students in the Indigenous Youth Media Workshop.

Indigenous Youth Media Workshop Team 2023! Great work reporting by Native high school students.