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