American Indian Studies

Discussion of Chief Illiniwek as the University of Illinois mascot, and the effect the mascot has on Native American peoples. Graduate student Charlene Teters shares the impact of the Chief on her family. Interviewees include members of the Board of Regents, students, alumni, current and former "Chiefs" and members of the community.

Examines the role of two-spirit people in the Navajo culture in the context of the story of a gay youth named Fred Martinez. Martinez was a nádleehí or a male-bodied person with a feminine essence, who was murdered in a hate crime at the age of sixteen. Discusses the traditional Native American perspective on gender and sexuality and the need for a balanced interrelationship between the feminine and masculine.

"Smokin' Fish" is a documentary about a young and quirky Tlingit businessman-Cory Mann-hustling to make a dollar in Juneau, Alaska. Hungry for smoked salmon and nostalgic for his childhood, Cory decides to spend a summer smoking fish at his family's traditional fish camp. The documentary shadows one man's attempts to navigate the collision between the modern world and an ancient culture. The film integrates story-lines of a modern Native Alaskan fish camp, a compelling personal journey, and dynamic vignettes of Tlingit history and culture - all told from a distinctly Native American perspective.