THE ART THEATER

I have always been fascinated with imagery and the power of presentation. I grew up in the ‘80s and witnessed the convergence of sound and visuals through music videos on MTV. To me, that was a truly unique art form that impacted me greatly and I was mesmerized by what was being presented in the way that it was. I attended Penn State University and studied Psychology and Media Studies, which led to making short videos and learning how to use cameras. I then began working for the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI), which is a sovereign tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy documenting everything going on. This made me become proficient in both the technical and social aspects of being “the guy with the camera.” With a bit of experience, I began to focus on what type of material I wanted people to see and that led to a cinema verité approach to documentary filmmaking. 

The video we (Seneca Media & Communications Center) put out on YouTube on the Buffalo processing was quite the story. My job as the media content creator for the SNI is exciting in that every day can mean a different adventure due to the many departments and activities going on. On this day, my boss said, “They are harvesting a Bison in a town 30 miles away, let’s go film it.” I said “ok.” We arrived at the Bison farm that was transferring their Bison to the nation on a very frigid western New York winter day (0 degrees at the highest). Not knowing was going to take place, I jumped out of the car with my Canon 5D Mark IV, with a shotgun mic and pressed record as my friend from Gakwi:yo:h Farms was singing a tribute song over a recently shot Bison was bleeding out hanging from a backhoe. The owner of the Bison farm proceeded to show the guys from the farm how to properly process the Bison, I kept slowly breathing and trying my best to keep a steady camera with no gloves on in this utterly astounding situation. In the end, the video ended up going viral due to the combination of gore and tribal affiliation. There was a lot of engagement from Russian and Chinese nationals. I earned this one, and I’m proud, haha. But yes, it was extremely surprising. 

For the Gakwi:yo:h Farms Bison harvest video, it was bittersweet for me personally because I am a member of the Oglala Lakota nation and Bison are revered in our culture, both for sustenance and spirituality. At the same time, I can understand why the farm would want to start herding and processing Bison. I shoot videos of the herd with a drone, and we post videos and everyone unanimously loves them, so I guess it’s a good thing. They truly are majestic animals. “Our Longhouse” was a piece that kind of just presented itself and I realized the potential to create a very cool and unique piece, and I jumped all over it. The beauty of the project, which started as a grant to build an outdoor replica of a traditional Iroquois longhouse, turned into a grassroots community-driven effort that brought people together and provoked reflection on a disturbing past. The volunteers that were out there “every good day” deserve all the credit for this project, as well as the Seneca-Iroquois Nation Museum staff for making it happen. I just filmed it, but it was a cool project for me in several ways: Every shot I did was a drone shot on a Mavic 3 Cine, except for a cool rack focus by my boy Patrick Redeye. Also, the video was cut to an original soundtrack I made with Splice samples, which was very fun. The ‘living longhouse’ continues to evolve and has been a very positive achievement for everyone involved. “Defending Ohi:yo’” stopped a fracking project that would have polluted “Ohi:yo’, which means “beautiful river” and is the name of the overall Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation. This video gained traction and exposed what could happen if this project went through, and in tandem with protests and controversy, embarrassed the company proposing it enough to pull it. I truly believe that because of the media created by our department and the Nation, this project was halted. The nation had allies and were able to get ahead of the paperwork and timeframes and successfully defended their most precious resource, Ohi:yo’. Watch the video. This truly demonstrates the power of documentary film. 

I am a human being and my opinion is ‘f*ck censorship,’ really. I love highly stylized pieces, but the truth is the truth. That is where really poignant reflections happen and if someone ever tells me what I shot was bad, I will simply say, “Why?” “That’s what happened."

Yes, I would agree with this statement in the sense that humans seek the truth. A true documentary does not try to persuade its audience. It merely shows what is happening from all sides and let’s its audience decide. 

My father has a long history of shaping much of what the tribe has become in

terms of exercising their sovereign status economically, so I kind of do have a

degree of “oh give him a chance” at least. But yes, this is a very good insight

because it is very difficult to gain someone’s trust when someone unknown is

wielding a camera and shining lights at you while asking emotional questions.

You definitely have to approach each situation with honesty, empathy and

humble yourself. Respect your elders.

When a good project presents itself, you have to be there. That is kind of hard because you didn’t plan it and your life becomes consumed, but in the end it’s worth it. 

This interview! I am really privileged to be a part of a vibrant tribal community and among many talented artists, visionaries and bold human beings.

Every second counts. People do not have the attention spans of a generation ago. I studied the films that made me feel ways I never felt and became immersed with how those directors, cameras and subjects did that. Films have an incredible potential to be everything: art, propaganda, education, psychological introspections and obviously, truth. 

I am exploring how to use the ‘voice of the visuals.’ I love music and always approach my projects with sound and how it will influence the visuals. It is as important as the shot. I work solo a lot, so I haven’t had the opportunity to work with professional actors and setups; I’m “run and gun” all the time, which I think is my main style. 

Definitely “Observational” documentaries. “Cinema Verité.” Show the truth. 

True documentaries do not influence the subject. Get good shots and let whatever is going to happen… happen. Most of it will not be what you want, but when those moments happen…. Well, there are no words, and you have your story that you created. It may have been there, but you made this moment happen and can show people a supremely deep experience.