Vision Maker Film Festival: Everything is Connected – May Streaming
Published on May 1, 2026
These videos are available to view the entire month of May. Please check back each month as new titles will be available to stream.
Each month brings a new selection of powerful American Indian and Alaska Native films, available through in-person screenings at The Ross Theater in Lincoln, NE, and streaming free online worldwide. Join us and discover Indigenous stories, heritages, and perspectives that connect us all.
Streaming in May:
Fire Tender: Yurok people have been putting fire on the land since time immemorial. But for more than 100 years, this practice has been disrupted by California settlers. The recent spate of catastrophic fires in the West, however, has policymakers rethinking their commitment to fire suppression. FIRE TENDER shares the work of Margo Robbins, a Yurok grandmother and knowledge keeper, as she seeks to return fire practices to Yurok territory, and to restore the land and its people.
Themes: Connected by Holders of Knowledge; Connected by Relationships to Land & Place
Stroke: The Circle of Healing: Sacramento filmmaker Jaime Tafoya offers a personal look into his journey as a stroke survivor. He powerfully chronicles his path to recovery, demonstrating how he uniquely blended both Western medical treatments and traditional Native American healing practices.
Themes: Connected by Heritage; Connected by Health & Wellness
April’s Ross Film Screening and Panel
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.
Themes: Connected by Subsistence; Connected by Relationships to Land & Place
Following the screening of Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life, featured participant Tah Mahs Ellie Kinley joins Vision Maker Media’s Pat O’Meara for a conversation about Indigenous identity, treaty rights, salmon restoration, Indigenous fishing traditions, and the legacy of her husband, Larry Kinley (Lummi), a fishman and tribal leader. Discussion topics include the deep relationship between the Lummi people and salmon, the fight to protect traditional fishing practices in the Salish Sea and Pacific Northwest, and the environmental challenges threatening wild salmon populations today.
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