First Peoples, First Stories
Follow new Native American storytellers as they share cultural stories about their lives, experiences, and Tribal communities — from learned Indigenous wisdom to reconnect with traditional knowledge to visionary innovative storytelling.
Premieres May 1 on PBS.
#FirstPeoplesFirstStories #VisionMakerMedia #PBS
🎉 Congratulations to the entire @onewiththewhale team on receiving a prestigious Peabody Award and earning an Emmy nomination!
This powerful documentary, which aired on @pbs , tells an urgent story of subsistence, identity, and Indigenous resistance in the Alaskan village of Gambell. It’s a moving tribute to the strength of community and the enduring relationship between people and the whale.
👏 Honored to see this important story receiving the recognition it deserves.
#OneWithTheWhale #PBS #PeabodyAwards #EmmyAwards #Gambell #Alaska #Indigenous #Subsistence #Community #Whale #Resistance
⭐ Meet Malinda Lowery (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina), filmmaker and Creative Shorts Fellowship alum.
Her work is an example of the voices and stories supported through our programs.
Support Indigenous storytellers—donate through the link in bio.
#SupportNativeFilmmakers #VisionMakerMedia #GiveToLincoln 🎥✨
Thank you to @siffnews for including us in their cINeDIGENOUS program this week and spotlighting so many indigenous films!
#reservationredemption #documentary #filmfestival #nativeamericanart
SIFF 2026! Thank you so much to the festival and to everyone who showed up for our #reservationredemption screening for making this such a good time!
#filmfestivals #seattle #nativeamericanart #explorepage
Today, we recognize Chief Standing Bear Day.
Celebrated annually on May 12 in Nebraska, the day honors the Ponca leader whose landmark 1879 court case affirmed Native Americans as “persons” under U.S. law.
Learn more about Chief Standing Bear through Standing Bear’s Footsteps, available on DVD and streaming. The title is 50% off throughout May.
#ChiefStandingBearDay #Ponca #NativeHistory #VisionMakerMedia #VMM50
🐟Now Streaming for the 2026 Vision Maker Media Film Festival!
Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life follows two Lummi families fishing for sockeye as they confront a declining salmon population and explore the question: “Who are we without salmon?” Inspired by tribal leader Larry Kinley, the film highlights Indigenous resilience, cultural identity, and the deep connection between people, land, and salmon.
✨Watch the film and explore more festival selections streaming all May!
🔗 LINK IN BIO!
First Peoples, First Stories.
Filmmaker Spotlight: @josiahwjones32 ✨
Josiah W. Jones is Apache, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Ohkay Owingeh and Kiowa from Shawnee, Oklahoma. A graduate of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Josiah’s work centers Native storytelling through film and visual media.
Josiah directed The Love for the Game, featured in Episode 2 — The Ties That Bind.
First Peoples, First Stories is now available on PBS.
#FirstPeoplesFirstStories #VisionMakerMedia #VMM50 #PBS
A piece of one of our directors’ statements from @brendahovisfisher about her connection to #reservationredemption. Get tickets for our Seattle Screening in our bio!
#nativecinema #documentary #explorepage #filmfestival
Vision Maker Media at the 2026 PBS Annual Meeting.
As Vision Maker Media celebrates its 50th anniversary, President & CEO Francene Blythe-Lewis addressed public media leaders, PBS stations, and partners from across the country during this year’s PBS Annual Meeting.
Founded in 1976, Vision Maker Media continues its mission of supporting Native creators, expanding Indigenous representation in public media, and building opportunities for the next generation of Native storytellers.
Over the past 50 years, VMM has produced more than 765 programs for PBS, representing more than 400 Tribal communities across the United States.
#PBSAnnualMeeting #VisionMakerMedia #VMM50 #PBS
Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life is streaming NOW for the 2026 Vision Maker Film Festival!
Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life is an hour-long documentary inspired by the late Chexanexwh Larry Kinley, a Lummi fisherman and tribal leader who embodied a belief in tribal sovereignty. The film follows two Lummi families fishing for sockeye. As they come to grips with a depleting fishery, Larry asks: “Who Are We Without Salmon?” Celebrating the resilience and adaptive natures of salmon and the people, the film is a reflection on a spiritual life way centered on respect and gratitude for salmon.
Everything is Connected
Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life is connected by subsistence and relationships to land & place. Subsistence activities—like hunting, fishing, gathering, and farming—do more than feed people. They connect communities to seasons, land, and knowledge passed down over generations. These practices sustain both daily life and cultural identity. Indigenous peoples often describe land as a relative rather than a resource. Land holds history, identity, and responsibility. This connection is ancestral and spiritual, reflecting a relationship built on care, reciprocity, and belonging.
Streaming now on our YouTube all of May!
LINK IN BIO!
Some stills from our documentary #reservationredemption, we can’t wait to share the rest of the project with you at our upcoming screenings (link in bio)!
#nativeamericanart #documentary #activism
