-- Los Angeles, CA (May 17, 2022) Today, IllumiNative, The Black List, and the Sundance Institute announced the eight finalists of The Indigenous List. These Indigenous screenwriters represent the best and most promising Native creatives in the film and television industry.
The Indigenous List was launched in 2020 to provide a platform for Indigenous writers to showcase their scripts, create additional pathways and opportunities within the industry, and support the development of the next generation of screenwriters. With the recent release of critically acclaimed Native-authored and centered shows, including Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs, as well as complex and powerful films like Wild Indian and Night Raiders, there has been a rise in demand for Native created and led stories.
This year's Indigenous List writers will have the opportunity to meet with four Indigenous creatives who have first look and/or overall development deals at major studios, including; Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache), producer and former director of the Sundance Indigenous Program, first-look deal for Film and TV at Amazon Studios; Michael Greyeyes (N hiyaw-Plains Cree), critically-acclaimed actor (Wildhood and Firestarter) and director (Acting Good), First-look Film deal at Blumhouse, Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo), showrunner/co-creator Rutherford Falls, Overall TV deal at Universal TV; and Sterlin Harjo (Seminole Creek/Muskogee Creek), showrunner/co-creator of Reservation Dogs, Overall TV deal at FX.
The Indigenous List provides an intimate look at the depth of talent and power of Native creatives in the entertainment industry, said Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative. These Indigenous writers are leading the way and showing the power of Native authored stories. I'm so grateful to The Black List, the Sundance Institute, and the Indigenous creatives who are supporting the next generation of Native writers.
As always it's a joy to introduce the industry to a new group of incredibly exciting writers and I personally look forward to watching the films and television shows that will be born of these introductions, said Black List founder Franklin Leonard. Everyone should be so lucky as to collaborate with folks like IllumiNative, Sundance Institute, Bird, Michael, Sierra, and Sterlin to do this sort of work. Read these scripts, everyone!
My team and I are thrilled again to be a part of showcasing the best work by Indigenous artists working across a variety of genres, formats, and stylistic approaches. The work in this year's list is a testament to the innovation and creative possibilities of what happens when Indigenous talent makes their own work on their own terms. said Adam Piron, Director of Indigenous Program.
The 2022 Indigenous List screenwriters and their scripts include:
Taietsar n:sere Tai' Leclaire (Kanien'keh :ka) with HOW TO DEAL WITH SYSTEMIC RACISM IN THE AFTERLIFE
Lyle Westman is dead and over it. When he discovers he has to spend 1400 years haunting in redface, he decides to strike back at the systemic problems plaguing the afterlife.
Alex Nystrom (Ojibwe) with BETWEEN
On a mysterious sinking island off the coast of Louisiana, home to a tight-knit Native community, a compulsive man finds himself up against untold tribal secrets, disappearing children, and the unearthing of a repressed traumatic past.
Bryson Chun (Kanaka Maoli) and Tara Aquino (Kanaka Maoli) with DON'T FREAK
What do you do when your ex writes a song about you and becomes the biggest popstar in the world? If you kidnap your best friend, steal a horse, and crash Good Morning America to confront her were on your breakup bingo card, then you win!
Maya Rose Dittloff (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA Nation)c/ Amskapi Pijkuni) with SWEETNESS OF THE BLOOD
Rose Home Gun returns to her childhood home on the Blackfeet Reservation when ghosts of the past rise to threaten her reality and her sanity.
W.A.W. Parker (Northern Cheyenne) with THE BARON
Love is a battlefield when a brash, flamboyant, gay Prussian military commander runs into his ex at Valley Forge after he's hired by George Washington to whip the fledgling American Army into shape during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. Comps: THE GREAT meets DICKINSON.
Brian Bahe (Tohono O'odham) with DECOLONIZE
When the United States is given back to Indigenous people, two self-involved millennials are forced into a leadership role they didn't sign up for.
Neil Tinkham (Chamorro) with THE TAOTAOMONA
A child of divorce goes on a hunt to capture a mythical creature that lives in the jungle, serendipitously bringing his family closer in the process.
Kathryn Machi (Cherokee) with JUNE ROSE
In San Francisco in the late 1960s, a housewife and mother of three teenagers belatedly discovers her Cherokee heritage and defies her conservative husband and her Cherokee father to join the Red Power and feminist movements.
Additionally, we are pleased to share the following updates for alumni of the very first Indigenous List:
Joey Clift's BUNKER BOSS and its placement on the inaugural Indigenous List led directly to meetings and writing opportunities on Nickelodeon and PBS projects.
Alika Maikau's Indigenous List script MOLOKA'I BOUND was selected to receive a $500,000 production grant from Google and ARRAY to help further foster its path towards the big screen.
Kathryn Machi was selected as a finalist for the IllumiNative 2022 Pop Culture Producers Program, was a quarterfinalist in the 2020 Big Break TV pilot competition, and has received additional support from Film Collaborative San Francisco. She was signed by her manager, Brian Judy, Bohemia Group, after his read of JUNE ROSE in the summer of 2020. Kathryn's script, FIREBIRD, was optioned by
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
-- Los Angeles, CA (May 17, 2022) Today, IllumiNative, The Black List, and the Sundance Institute announced the eight finalists of The Indigenous List. These Indigenous screenwriters represent the best and most promising Native creatives in the film and television industry. 
