Global Footprint of Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Media

[Music]

[Music]

how did a story

that you’ve heard read or seen make you

feel

storytelling is universal to the human

experience

and it is surely as old as language

itself

i’m jan and i’m joy me and jan are

apache kiowa

native american twins and although we

were born in the united states

we lived in britain for 20 years and

grew up in england

as third culture kids as multimedia

storytellers specializing in digital

marketing and content development

we’ve mastered the art of telling

cross-cultural stories

in new immersive ways

johnny bow have you ever heard people

shout that iconic name

we’re actually direct descendants of

geronimo

he is known across the globe for being a

prominent leader of

several bands of the apache tribe and

his name is recognized as a war cry

in pop culture as indigenous peoples

our stories have echoed throughout

centuries

from petroglyphs to forklord paintings

to graphic novels

and now with the uptick in creating

digital simulations

in our physical world we’re utilizing

augmented reality

all these artistic expressions have a

global footprint

and personify the old adage show

don’t tell multimedia storytelling

humanizes your brand because of its

power to make emotional connections

to it in a way that no other method can

by pulling your audience into your own

story

people are moved by your authenticity

creating empathy that can nurture

and sustain customer loyalty for years

to come

so now we’re going to walk you through a

short journey of visual storytelling

from our native american ancestors other

indigenous tribes

and me we will give examples of art

forms from

ancient to traditional media and then

from contemporary to

immersive media giving you a unique

insight into a world of visual

storytelling that is not often in the

spotlight

first let’s look at a couple of examples

of ancient media art forms

what you see is a picture of kiowa tribe

history

painted on a bison hide the painted

timeline depicts the years

1833-1892

the image that you see now is of a

pictograph

that is drawings or or paintings on rock

this one was found at newspaper rock and

southwestern utah

now not only did tribes create these

images in order to record a history of

events

but it was also a means to showcase

ceremonial images and even maps of

hunting areas

so in ancient media before the time of

the book

a picture literally painted a thousand

words

now let’s look at a couple of examples

of traditional art forms

before the dawn of digital media a

famous kiowa photographer

from our maternal grandmother’s side was

horus pula

who lived from 1906 to 1984

his photographs celebrated the life of

his friends and family

and of his multi-cultural tribal

community

and told the story of native america of

the southern plains

during the mid 20th century and that

continued for the next 50 years

what you see here is a photograph from

the american indian exposition parade

in anadarko oklahoma in 1941.

this picture was also featured in an

exhibition

at the national museum of the american

indian in new york city in 2015

which we attended another renowned cairo

storyteller is robert redbird senior

who passed away in 2016 he was an

award-winning native american artist

who painted in order to preserve and

communicate the kiowa culture

he is known primarily for his

blanket-wrapped southern plains figures

and depiction of kiowa foreclore

what you see here is an image of robert

redbird’s painting called

the gathering now in 1967 he designed

the poster

for the u.s international open polo

tournament

when he met prince charles of wales

he was also served as a he also served

as a cultural consultant

on server motion pictures including the

1990 film

dances with wolves and oklahoma declared

on

june 7 2003 that it was robert redbird

day

to celebrate the artist’s many creative

and humanitarian achievements

it’s imperative to take the time to

ensure your messaging

your story has authentic voices

inclusion and representation will

provide that depth

and that accuracy in your storytelling

to give your work the respect

it deserves from these traditional

mediums we

move into the digital space in

contemporary media

with an example of a digital platform

which highlights the work of native

american master writers and storytellers

called native realities digital led by

lee francis

in comics and graphic novels native

american characters

aren’t usually very prominent but since

2015

native realities has published more than

a dozen comics

and graphic novels with award-winning

titles such as

tales of the mighty code talkers dear

women

and native entrepreneurs that have

continued to delight and inform

audiences throughout the world

what you see here is an image of the

cover of its latest crowd-funded graphic

novel

ahau a werewolf comic anthology which

features new comics by accomplished

writers

and illustrators distributed by native

realities distribution arm

red planet books and comments native

realities is also the founder of the

indigenous

comic con

keep your ear to the ground for emerging

artists

what’s been seems to lead to what’s next

so collaborate to innovate

so we’ve talked about ancient

traditional and contemporary media in

indigenous storytelling

but now we’re going to walk you through

an example of augmented reality

which is a new type of immersive media

so jan what exactly is it augmented

reality

overlays digital content onto the

physical world

as if the object is actually there with

you

in your own space as an indigenous

visual artist also known as kiowa jan

i tell cross-cultural stories in new

immersive ways

my digital art series indigenous planet

is based on the four seasons

one of the seven lessons of the native

american medicine will

where i digitally painted the spring

summer and

upcoming winter of my life

what you see here is indigenous planet

in augmented reality

filmed by using mnbit viewing room an

augmented reality app

on location at the oculus in downtown

manhattan

yellow represents spring when i was born

in oklahoma

where the bison used to roam freely red

represents summer

when i grew up in england black

represents fall

where i currently live in new york city

white represents winter

where we all just might end up in space

the medicine wheel shows where each of

these stages of my life

falls on the colors of the wheel

you can see the indigenous planet ar

show in the minbit viewing room app

wherever you are in the world be it

inside or outside

at indigenousplanet.art

augmented reality allows you to engage

people’s imaginations

and expand people’s beliefs your story

becomes an immersive experience and not

simply

something visual we are in the age of

merging old and new ways of storytelling

with digital tools that open a number of

possibilities of

interactions across international

borders without the need to even travel

so we’ve looked at examples of ancient

media which

gives you a look into what life was like

before the time of the book

and then more traditional ways of

storytelling with photographs and four

floor paintings

which stand by time and place so we get

a glimpse into other people’s lives in

those moments

the graphic novel example took us into

contemporary media

where we absorb digital stories with

words and visuals

and even sound my augmented reality art

show created a digital interactive

experience

in a physical world which provides a

unique

method of entry into storytelling by

completely involving your audience

so let’s consider the question we asked

at the beginning of our talk

how did a story that you’ve heard read

or seen

make you feel as stories let us see

how others think and feel we empathize

with the storyteller and even with the

people around us

who are engaging in this shared

experience

in order to nurture the level of

customer loyalty needed for long-term

business success

you have to make genuine connections

with your audience

at every touch point throughout the

customer journey

tell stories that share your

vulnerability are sincere

and emotionally compelling

when your audience is fully immersed in

the story you are telling them

they will experience it along with you

you will be in control of the experience

and the customer will follow you

wherever you want to take them

indigenous storytelling has echoed

throughout centuries with

art forms that have a global footprint

connecting with the traditions of

peoples

from every continent celebrating

universal narratives of

family unity strength and perseverance

stories that can be retold whomever and

wherever you are

feel the impact learn the innovation

and be inspired as we say in

iowa a whole debate hao

thank you very much

you