oki language COUNCIL
Our Councilmembers are committed to lending their platforms and voices to support the preservation of Indigenous languages throughout North America.
EUGENE BRAVE ROCK, founder
A Canadian First Nations actor and stuntman, Eugene Brave Rock is best known playing the Chief in "Wonder Woman." Raised in the Kainai Nation in southern Alberta, Brave Rock began acting as a teenager, making his debut at the age of 17. As an adult, he performed at Disneyland Paris as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, doing stunt horseback riding as well as participating in battlefield reenactments. He later did stunt work and performed projects as "Hell on Wheels" and "The Revenant.” After years of hard work, his breakthrough role as Chief, one of Wonder Woman's key allies as she fights in the World War I trenches, brought him new attention and wide acclaim. He was also given input into the character, speaking Blackfoot to Wonder Woman to introduce himself and consulting on the design of his costume. For Brave Rock, however, perhaps the greatest acclaim of all came after he returned home for a visit following the movie's successful release: he was honored with the gift of a full headdress by the Kainai Nation, and many children praised him as their new hero.
A proud Blackfoot from the Blood Tribe born and raised in Blackfoot country, Eugene attended school in Cardston, Fort McLeod, Lethbridge, and Calgary. He hopes that his work will always bring light, respect and a greater understanding of his Blackfoot culture to people everywhere. He recently led the Oki Language Project, which involved collecting a library of Indigenous language greetings of Turtle Island and share Elder stories about the deep understanding of this meaningful act of welcoming another human being.
“In researching our language, I have come to know that the meaning of words could take days to explain. Everything in Blackfoot culture has its purpose, place and symbiotic rhythm giving it a sacredness so that it is not to be misused, abused or taken for granted. This is true for all Indigenous languages and it is important to educate and raise awareness for future generations.”
chris eyre, councilmember
Chris Eyre (born 1968), an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, is an American film director and producer who gained national attention in 1998 with the movie Smoke Signals, which won the Sundance Film Festival Filmmakers Trophy and the Audience Award. His film also won “Best Film” honors at the 1998 American Indian Film Festival. People Magazine called him "the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time."
Eyre’s second film, Skins, is the story of two brothers on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a tribal cop and a Vietnam vet battling alcohol and emotional problems. He said at a screening: “The only thing you get in making period pieces about Indians is guilt. I’m interested in doing what non-Indian filmmakers can’t do, which is portray contemporary Indians.”
Eyre has also directed two episodes of the famed PBS series Mystery!; A Thief of Time and Skinwalkers starring Adam Beach as Jim Chee, and Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn. Both were executive produced by Robert Redford and based on the best selling Tony Hillerman novels. Skinwalkers is a mystery involving skinwalkers or shape-shifters, and the murders of several medicine men. A Thief of Time is a who-dunnit that intertwines very competitive anthropologists, possible artifact thievery, a missing professor, and the legend of the Anasazi.
More than two decades after his success at Sundance, Eyre is now an executive producer and director on AMC+’s Navajo noir series “Dark Winds,” based on the Tony Hillerman mystery novels. Longtime Hillerman fans Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin also serve as executive producers.
kiowa gordon, councilmember
Kiowa Gordon is a Native American actor of Hualapai heritage with award-winning film and television credits. He can currently be seen playing the Series Regular role of “Jim Chee” in the critically acclaimed series DARK WINDS for AMC, based on the book series from Tom Hillerman, and produced by George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford, now in its second season.
Born in Berlin, Germany, Kiowa moved to the States shortly thereafter to live on the Hualapai Reservation in Peach Springs, AZ and moved around quite a bit growing up until settling down in Phoenix, AZ where he landed the role of Embry Call in THE TWILIGHT SAGA. In 2013, Kiowa won Best Supporting Actor at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco for his role in the indie film, THE LESSER BLESSED. From there, Kiowa went on to having a Series Regular role in the Sundance original series, THE RED ROAD, starring Jason Momoa, Julianne Nicholson and Martin Henderson and a Guest Starr on the Netflix series FRONTIER.
Kiowa has had Lead roles in a number of festival films including 2 features which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival – BLOOD QUANTUM (multiple festival nom and winner) from director Jeff Barnaby and CASTLE IN THE GROUND (TIFF nominated for best Canadian feature) from director Joey Klein. And more recently, QUANTUM COWBOYS opposite Lily Gladstone & David Arquette, which received multiple festival nominations.
andrew gray, councilmember
Andrew Gray is an actor, humanitarian, producer, writer, model, public speaker, creative director, and an incredible athlete with an adventurous spirit. Sharing a unique background of being both Miwok and Mexican, this has given him a purpose to advocate for representation and inclusion through his work in media and entertainment.
Gray is known for playing “Troy” the red ranger on Power Rangers Megas Force and Super Mega Force acting in television & film on platforms such as Netflix (3 seasons Bling Empire) Amazon, Nickelodeon, and Discovery ID. Andrew has had the distinct privilege to have worked as a model with top leading brands such as Gucci, Dior, Adidas, Sony, and Tanqueray. Gray wrote, produced, and stared in, “Spilt Milk.” The short film is a gripping story that shows that anyone can either be a victim or a survivor. It won the 2021 VOFF (Viewster Online Film Fest) Official Selection, “Best Editor,” and “Best Cinematography,”. It was partnered with The Mental Health Foundation.
Gray has worked with numerous charities in the past – Mental Health Foundation, Big Brother Big Sister Los Angeles, Sacramento Children’s Home, Kids Can Cosplay, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Help Feed America, Run To Feed The Hungry, Make A Wish, and takes aim at The American Indian College Fund. Furthermore, Gray is currently associated with the non-profit It Starts with One Today. In closing Gray founded a public speaking empowerment program targeting youths and their parents called – Beyond The Cameras.
jessica matten, councilmember
Jessica Matten is a Red River Metis - Cree actress who has starred and produced "Tribal" on the APTN network, as well as playing "Sokanon" in the popular Netflix show opposite Jason Momoa, "Burden of Truth" on the CW and CBC Network, 20th Century Fox's feature film "The Empty Man". She is currently the female lead of George RR Martin and Robert Reford's executive produced TV series "Dark Winds" for the AMC Network.
Jessica has spent her entire life dedicated to helping move Indigenous communities forward. Over a span of 20 years, she has worked extensively with Indigenous people to help break cycles of inter-generational trauma. Her company, 7 Forward Entertainment, is an Indigenous-owned production company based on the West Coast of Canada. She is also a Co-Founder of The Counting Coup Indigenous Film Academy (“CCIFA”), an educational environment for creative work, where emerging and aspiring First Nations, Metis and Inuit artists can gain expertise and experience in film.
She was named one of the "Top 15 Rising Talent to Come Out of Canada" - by the Hollywood Reporter, 2019 and one of the "100 Greatest Moments from 100 Years" from the University of Alberta Alumni Magazine in Winter 2020. The Globe and Mail named her acting for Tribal as "One of Canada's Greatest Performances of 2020.”
Her long standing purpose and goal is to continue to produce, create and facilitate programs that will move her Indigenous people FORWARD. Moving people FORWARD to heal, to create positive change and to set a new example of what it means to be a proud and strong Indigenous woman.
With her team, she is currently in development of executive producing several projects in film and television. She is also launching the world's first all inclusive Native film and stunt school on a grand scale called the Counting Coup Indigenous Film Academy with her co-founding partner, Julian Black Antelope (1 of Herd Media) in partnership with Old Sun College and the Siksika Nation. The goal is to expand across Treaty 7 and then go nationwide.
zahn mcclarnon, councilmember
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is an actor known for his remarkable talent, versatility, and captivating performances across film and television. Born on October 24, 1966, in the land of the Arapaho, Ute, and Cheyenne (Denver, Colorado), Zahn McClarnon has forged a distinguished career in the entertainment industry, leaving an indelible mark with his compelling portrayals of complex characters.
Zahn is known for his performances in the Western crime drama series Longmire, the second season of Fargo, and the second season of Westworld. Presently, he plays the lead role in the AMC series Dark Winds and also features in the FX on Hulu series Reservation Dogs, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Hawkeye and Echo.
McClarnon is the son of a Hunkpapa Lakota mother and a father of Irish ancestry. He grew up near Browning, Montana and is a proud advocate for cultural preservation and frequently engages in activities aimed at preserving and celebrating his Lakota Sioux heritage.
jessica r. metcalfe, councilmember
Dr. Jessica R. Metcalfe, PhD (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Arizona. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on Native designers of high fashion. She is the owner of Beyond Buckskin, which is a website and business dedicated to promoting and selling Native American made fashion.
The Beyond Buckskin website focuses on all topics related to Native fashion, including contemporary design, historical adornment, and issues related to cultural appropriation in the fashion industry. Based out of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, ND, the Beyond Buckskin Boutique sells Native American-made couture, streetwear, jewelry, and accessories.
She has taught courses in American Indian studies, studio art, art history, and literature at tribal colleges and state universities. She has presented at numerous national conferences, lectured at museums, and co-curated exhibitions. Her current work focuses on Native American art, clothing, and design from all time periods, with an emphasis on contemporary artists.
indrani pal-chaudhuri, councilmember
Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri is a multi-disciplinary artist, filmmaker, innovator, and mobilizer of millions, known for creating transformative, multi-platform works of art and impact. Discovered and mentored by David Bowie and Iman, she shaped the image of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and 300 other global brands. A Max Mark-Cranbrook Global Peacemaker, she has raised billions of impressions with her work, exploring identity, gender, cultural and ecological regeneration.
Her work has won over 40 awards including the Tribeca Film Festival Disruptive Innovation Award, CNN Expose Award, and two Cannes Gold Lions. At the United Nations she is a Women's Entrepreneurship Distinguished Fellow, co-convenor of the Science Summit, and co-host of the Global People's Summit. She is a Visiting Lecturer at Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and TEDx speaker, featured on HBO, BBC, CNN, Bravo/NBC, in the New York Times, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, and at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Brooklyn Museum, Center Pompidou Paris, and Lincoln Center.
She is co-founder of impact organizations Shakti Regeneration Institute, Double Exposure Studios, and Open Origin, and co-leads an X-PRIZE Rainforest Semifinalist team of scientists, engineers, and indigenous forest protectors, developing technologies and bioeconomies for biodiversity regeneration.
Leveraging her expertise in anthropology, diplomacy, celebrity, fashion, music, and marketing, she explores themes of identity, equality, cultural and ecological regeneration, to awaken public consciousness and create a more just, equitable, and regenerative world.
“I seek to challenge, enthrall and inspire audiences with transformative storytelling, powerful diverse characters, unforgettable imagery, and psycho-social understanding. My approach is as a collaborator, thriving on flexibility and fun to engage the team. My aesthetic is hyperreal, encouraging authenticity and dimensional performances, embracing fantasy sculpting with light, nature, and unconventional compositions. My vision mixes the gritty rawness of my Girl Epidemic with the magical realism of Legend of Lady White Snake for a quixotic, danger and hope-filled dream-scape that reflects the characters’ inner life. To provoke viewers to laugh, cry and to hope, to join our protagonists in finding their own potential and inspire them to transform themselves and humanity.” - Indrani
roseta santiago, councilmember
“In Asian philosophy there is a process of becoming “new.” This intellectual sensation has been my best ally.” Roseta has walked many new paths, while always being optimistic of the results. On some of those paths, she managed an employment agency in Washington DC, designed and sold signage and exhibits, started a graphics design company that led to theme restaurant advertising, an advertising and promotion agency and a design/ build career. After that she was recruited to paint life size wildlife murals for 23 Bass Pro stores in 16 states. This earned her the name Paintslinger in New Mexico. Today she realizes that these experiences played a major role in this, her final painting “career.”
Roseta Santiago was born and raised in the land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway, now Washington DC area, the eldest among my five siblings. Her father was a chef on the aircraft carrier USS Missouri and at the Blair House for Harry Truman while serving in the US Navy for 35 years. He was born in the Philippine Islands to a Spanish father and Filipino mother. Her mother was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and her parents were Irish, German and Polish, having fled from Europe because of their ancestry.
“There is such mystery surrounding our heritage. This may be a clue to my curiosity about subjects and the lineage of the objects I paint. I am fascinated by mystery, illusion and the unknown. My determination and drive came, no doubt, from my dad, who raised his large family based on a third-grade education and hard work.”
west studi, councilmember
Wes Studi has moved audiences with unforgettable performances in “Dances with Wolves,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Geronimo: An American Legend,” and “Heat,” as well as James Cameron’s “Avatar,” Paul Weitz’s “Being Flynn” and Scott Coopers “Hostiles.” Breaking new ground, he brought fully-developed Native American characters to the screen, and then took his craft a step further highlighting the success of Native Americans in non-traditional roles.
The eldest son of a ranch hand, Wes was born in 1947 in Nofire Hollow, in Northeastern Oklahoma. He spoke only his native Cherokee until he was 5, when he was enrolled in the Murrell Home to attend public school. He later attended the Chilocco Indian Boarding School in Northern Oklahoma, where he remained through high school graduation. Yet, unlike many fellow Native American students, he never forgot his language.
A Vietnam veteran, Wes returned home and joined the American Indian Movement (AIM) and participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties protest march in 1972, where hundreds of Native American activists marched on Washington. He was one of the protesters who briefly occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building there. In 1973, Wes participated in the occupation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, for which he was arrested. Recognizing his current path could lead to self-destruction, Wes changed course and channeled his feelings toward positive change. Shortly after Wounded Knee, Wes moved to the Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he worked for the Cherokee Nation, and helped start the Cherokee Phoenix, a bilingual newspaper still in publication today. During that time Wes put his linguistic skills to work and began teaching the Cherokee language in the community. Later attending Northeastern University in Tahlequah, he made further attempts at positive influence in his work with his people.
Wes remains a passionate activist and academic. He’s taken a national leadership role in the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages, acting as the spokesperson for the Santa Fe-based Indigenous Language Institute, and working as a language consultant on several films, including “Avatar” and the PBS documentary “We Shall Remain.” He’s also active in encouraging the next generation of filmmakers and performers, providing mentorship and participating in apprenticeship programs.
taboo Nawasha, councilmember
Taboo Nawasha (Jaime Luis Gomez) is a renowned American rapper, singer, and songwriter best known for his role as a member of the chart-topping hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas. Born on July 14, 1975, in the land of the Chumash and Tongva (Los Angeles, California), Taboo has made a significant impact on the music industry with his unique style and contributions to the group's success.
Taboo's life has been marked by personal challenges, including a battle with cancer in 2014, which he successfully overcame. His life experiences have fueled his passion for music and advocacy. He joined The Black Eyed Peas in the late 1990s, becoming an integral part of the group's transformation from an underground hip-hop act to international pop sensations.
Taboo's contributions to the industry extend beyond his musical talents. He is a fervent advocate for various social and environmental causes. His personal journey, including overcoming cancer and his Native American heritage (he is of Shoshone and Mexican descent), has inspired him to support cancer awareness initiatives and indigenous rights.
In addition to his work with The Black Eyed Peas, Taboo has pursued solo projects and collaborations with other artists. His solo album, "Taboo: The Fight," showcased his lyrical skills and versatility as an artist.
Taboo's impact on the music industry and his dedication to meaningful causes have solidified his place as a respected and influential figure in contemporary music and activism. His journey serves as an inspiration to many, proving that resilience, talent, and a commitment to positive change can lead to lasting success and impact.
raoul max trujillo, councilmember
Raoul Max Trujillo was born in Northern New Mexico. He is a mixed blood descendant of Tlaxcalan (Nahuatl), Ute, Apache, Comanche, Pueblo., French, Sephardic Jew and Andalusian Moor.
After high school, he spent three years serving in the military in Germany. After his discharge, he worked as an alpine ski instructor in Taos, New Mexico. Ski Flash Magazine out of France wrote about him and his unique style of teaching skiing. He left the world of professional skiing after traveling extensively through Mexico, Central and South America on his way to teach in San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina. It was a wake up call to exploring native America and beginning his journey in creating art based on his cultural roots.
After the first decade of performing as a dancer, he became the choreographer and co-director for the American Indian dance Theatre, the first professional native dance company incorporating traditional dance with contemporary retelling of myths and legends. He helped establish the Aboriginal Dance Project at the Banff Center for the Arts to further train Indigenous dancers from all over the world.
Raoul began work as an actor in film and television in 1988 and continues to work up to the present. He created his present company Tzacol productions, Inc. in 1992. It is the umbrella company for Tzacol Tantric Theatre and Tzacol Tribal Theatre made up of dancer, actor and aerial artists, producing original work in the realm of tartaric and tribal spectacle. "Forbidden Goddesses", is the first realized work. Work on "Journey", a multi-media piece for Roots and Rhythms Festival in Santa Fe resulted in the full evening work, "Homo Erectus". These last works are multi-media and inter-disciplinary theatre and film projects. "The Dreamer" is his first completed screenplay. In 2002, he received the CANCOM Ross Charles award in Canada to attend the Banff Center's screenwriters workshop for aboriginal storytellers. The last branch of the company, Tzacol Tantric Arts produces painting and sculptural art. His work now spans more than three decades as an artist in varied disciplines and media. He has gone from dancer to choreographer, actor to director and screenwriter during this time.
rob canton, executive director
Rob is the son of Immigrants whose parents were born in Cuba, the land of the Taíno. He himself was born in the land of the Tongva, now Long Beach, California, but spent most of his formative years growing up in the land of the Chiricahua Apache of Southern New Mexico. After two years at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, Rob moved to the land of the Seminole, where he earned his degree in Finance from the University of South Florida.
A 25-year veteran of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led PwC’s Sports & Tourism practice, Rob has vast experience conducting strategic and economic analyses within the sports and entertainment industry. He has worked with hundreds of teams, destinations, and developers representing a multitude of initiatives including development, transactions, performance improvement, project feasibility, and strategic planning.
After PwC, Rob served as Executive Vice President of Finance and Strategy for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. It was there that he found his passion for philanthropy and created Athletes+Causes, an star-studded event benefitting Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (Rob himself is a Type One diabetic). The success of that event led to his founding of A+C Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that serves as a community foundation for professional Athletes and Artists to use their platforms to support causes they are passionate about. Rob has worked full-time for A+C Foundation since shortly after he founded it in 2014 and has helped launch and run multiple charities raising millions of dollars for his clients charitable causes. Oki Language Project is a fiscal sponsorship of Rob’s A+C Foundation, thereby granting it 501(c)(3) status and allowing its donors the tax benefits of donating to a charitable organization.
Rob also serves on the Faculty of The George Washington University where he teaches a class on Sports Philanthropy and has a Masters of Tourism Administration from The George Washington University.