Michael Smith, who founded the nonprofit American Indian Film Festival in Seattle in 1975, said concerning the entertainment industry and its relationship to American Indians:
"It used to be if you were dealing with homelessness or alcoholism, you might get some support from foundations and government grants. But if you're talking about media, arts and culture involving American Indians, people who could help always found that hard to grasp, at one point there were white arts groups getting funded for work on Indian arts projects. But our Indian groups wouldn't be given a chance to do things on our own."
With the increasingly large amount of casino money, Indian tribes have helped to give back by underwriting Smith's American Indian Film Festival, among other groups.
Photo courtesy of the American Indian Film Festival
This year's festival will open with "The Velvet Devil," at the Lumiere Theater, along with "Teachings of the Tree People," and "The Battle of Peter LeFarge."
Smith added: "We're seeing more of our people feeling comfortable writing stories about themselves. Our films are becoming more of a testament to awareness of native issues and native stories. We're still kind of in the infancy of this business, with few actors in prime television or big Hollywood productions. But we always have our stories that we know that we can tell best."
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