Cheyenne Arapaho Film Director
Chris Eyre
“Feature film director Chris Eyre has been giving a voice to contemporary Native American people ever since his 1998 indie(Indian) hit Smoke Signals.”
(Mother Jones Podcast,2009)
Chris Eyre
Directs films, documentaries and TV shows with accurate portrayals of Native Americans
Age 43 in 2011
Born in Portland, Oregon
Raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon
..
“I'd like to make movies that are about Indians here and now, Indians living in the 21st century, and show that they are as complex as any other people... and it has nothing to do with spirituality or oppression. It's just about people being people. That's really what I'm seeking” (Eyre, 2002).
Family Daughter: ShahiyelaShahiyela’s mom: Lori
Pourier
Adoptive parents: Barbara and Earl (Caucasian)
Reconnects with his biological mother, Rose, at age 18
Traditional Cheyenne and Arapaho People in Regalia
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College President Dr. Henrietta Mann
Chiefs of the Cheyenne and Arapaho TribesRed Earth Princess Carrie Kay-Kay Whitlow
Cheyenne and Arapaho are two distinct tribes
Because of the creation of Indian Reservations, many tribes were force to exist with another tribe
Cheyenne Traditional Homeland
Near the Great Lakes in what is now Minnesota and Great Plains
Cheyenne remain a powerful tribe
Arapaho Traditional Homeland
Saskatchewan, Montana, Wyoming, Eastern Colorado, and Western
South Dakota
Graduate Education
1995, Master of Fine Arts, Graduate Film Program
New York University Best short film award for Tenacity, 1995
Undergraduate Education
1989: Associate of Applied ScienceDegree: Television Production MajorMt. Hood Community College (Learned multi-camera television)
1991, Bachelor's Degree, Media ArtsUniversity of Arizona(created non-sync 16mm films)
Career Achievements
• Directs Major films• Co-produces TV series • Makes music video• Creates documentaries for PBS
On the Set Chris Eyre
Major Film Productions
A Thousand Roads (2005) Movie
A Thief of Time (2004)TV Movie
Edge of America (2003)TV Movie
Things We Do(1998)Music Video
Skinwalkers (2002)TV Movie
Skins (2002)Movie
Smoke Signals (1998)Movie
A Thousand Roads (2005) Movie
A Thief of Time (2004) TV Movie
Edge of America (2003) TV Movie
Skinwalkers (2002) TV Movie
Skins (2002) Movie
Things We Do (1998) Music Video
Smoke Signals (1998) Movie
Smoke Signals (1999) Awards
15 nominationsWon 9 awardsBest filmBest actorNewcomer of the yearBest Debut Performance
All Native American Cast and Crew
Skins (2002) AwardsWins 2 awards
Best ActorTheatrical Feature FilmNominated for Best Male LeadNominated Best Performance in a Theatrical Feature Film
Skinwalkers (2002)
Adapted from the Novel “Skinwalkers” by Tony Hillerman
TV SeriesThe American Experience (TV series documentary)
We Shall Remain: Part 1-5 (2009)
Freedom Riders (TV series) (2009)
Law and Order: SVU (TV series) Smut (2008)
Friday Night Lights (TV Series) Keeping up Appearances (2008)
We Shall Remain (2009) TV Series
Freedom Riders (2009) TV Series
Law and Order: SVU (2009) TV
Friday Night Lights (2008) TV
Eyre works with PBS to create a five part educational series on Native American Indian history during colonization (2009).
“I think in the series what you find is that nothing is simple and nothing is black or white… you can’t always be sure the choices you would have made at the time and the series really sheds light on that” (Eyre, 2009).
Chris Eyre comments about the “We Shall Remain” series.
Publisher, Chris Neumer comments on Skins and Smoke Signals:
“My reaction to both films was, I’m not sure if I’m being naïve or I’m being super enlightened, but when I watched this movie, I just saw people”(2002).
Current ProductionsNative Century: TV series that tells the stories about
Native Americans after Wound Knee MassacreA Year in Mooring: Movie about successful
businessman who suffers tragedy
Chris Eyre Today
• Cheyenne and Arapaho success at Age 43• Currently lives in Rapid City, South Dakota• Directs films & documentaries
Question For Chris Eyre
What would you like to tell Native American Youth?
Matt Cram
• Biographer • Currently attending
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
• Social Science Major/with History Emphasis
• I like to play sports and anything outdoors
Special Thanks • Thanks to those people who helped me on
this project• Thanks to the sources that I used on this
project• Thanks to Chris Eyre, couldn’t do this project
without him• Thanks to Kevin Locke for the Music used in
this project• Special thanks to Garnet Wind, Julie Philips,
and Colleen Garrity
References 1-5
Alexie, S. (2006). Old school reviews. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://oldschoolreviews.com/rev_2000/smoke_signals.htm
Bowman, J. (2006). Filmmaker Chris Eyre: Telling it like it is. Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.nativepeoples.com/article/articles/137/1/Filmmaker-Chris-Eyre
Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe. (2010). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.c-a-tribes.org/government
Http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/heard_on_set_eyre
. Chris Eyre (Director). ().[Video/DVD]
Chris Eyre biography. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800024676/bio
References 6-10
Chris Eyre biography TMC. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=514832&apid=0
Chris Eyre on young native people. . (Jan 23, 2008).[Video/DVD] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URC4CDdHQA0
Chris Eyre: Filmmaker. (2008). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://chriseyre.org/
Chris Neumer. (2006). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://stumpedmagazine.com/articles/chris-neumer.html
Cowboys and Indians. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.cowboysindians.com/art-entertainment/tv-film/2010-12/reel-injun-pbs-independant-lens-documentary-examines-native-roles-in-film.jsp
References 11-15
Day of the black docs. (2010). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.dayofblackdocs.org/
DGA awards. (2009). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.dga.org/thedga/aw_tv.php3
Edge of America. (2011). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.moviefone.com/movie/edge-of-america/20712/main
Http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/heard_on_set_eyre
. Eyre, C. (Director). (2009).[Video/DVD] PBS: PBS.
Fitts, A. (2011). Interview: Chris Eyre, native American director, and ric burns, documentary filmmaker. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://motherjones.com/media/2009/05/interview-chris-eyre-native-american-director-and-ric-burns-documentary-filmmaker
References 16-20
Flag of Arapaho nation. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.tmealf.com/native_american/n-a.htm
Foriegnmoviesddl. (2009). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.foriegnmoviesddl.com/2009/03/skins-2002-chris-eyre.html
Foster care month. (2009). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.fostercaremonth.org/SuccessStories/FosterCareAlumni/Pages/ChrisEyre.aspx
Friday night lights. (2011). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216628/
Greenwichmeantime. (2010). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/south-dakota/
References 21-26
IMDB. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3850607360/tt0284494
IMDB. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312278/
Indigenous. (2006). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.uulyrics.com/music/indigenous/song-things-we-do/
Law and order. (2011). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1248622/
Locke, K, Good, D, and Wasinger, T. (2008). Earth Gift. Pittsburgh, PA: Ixtlan Artist Group, Inc.
Map of united states. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_map_-_geographic.png
References 27-31
Movie camera. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://pvk2010.wikispaces.com/Ms.+Cabral%27s+Class
Movie web. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.movieweb.com/movie/smoke-signals/PGqSytqy6lZetz
Mt. hood. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.campusexplorer.com/colleges/3A51F902/Oregon/Gresham/Mt-Hood-Community-College-Gresham/
Multicamera-diagram. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Multicamera-diagram.png
MyNorth.com. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/December-2009/Chris-Eyre-Presents-quotSmoke-Signals-quot-in-Traverse-City/
References 32-36
Native arts. (2009). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://community.livejournal.com/native_arts/tag/artist%20profile
NativeCelebs. (2005). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.miigwan.com/nativeamericans3.html
Neumer, C. (2006). Stumped magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://stumpedmagazine.com/interviews/chris-eyre-transcript.html
PBS mystery. (2004). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/american/thief/popups/eyre.html
PBS picture. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/entertainment/BO120638/
References 37-41
Seal of Portland, Oregon. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_Portland_OR.png
Skinwalkers. (2011). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skinwalkers.JPG
Stahl productions. (2004). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://stahlproductions.com/article.php?article_id=548
SWOSU. (2008). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.swosu.edu/news/releases/2008/2008-04-04a.asp
Talltalestruetales. (2009). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.talltalestruetales.com/2009/04/chris-eyreoregon-filmmaker/
References 42-46
A thief of time. (2011). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367135/
A thousand roads. (2011). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407254/
University of Arizona. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://arizona.lawschoolnumbers.com/
University of New York. (2011). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://movement.nyu.edu/commotion/
We shall remain. (2009). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/photo_gallery
References 47-52We shall remain. (2009). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from
http://www.amoeba.com/blog/2009/11/all-the-news-that-s-fit-to-sing/we-shall-remain.html
We shall remain main page. (2009). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/
We shall remain: Cast and crew. (2009). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/meet_cast_and_crew
We shall remain: Cast picture. (2009). Retrieved February 8, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/episode_1_about
We shall remain: Chris Eyre. (2009). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/episode_1_cast_bios#cEyre
Zempel, E. (2008). Zombie reporting center. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.zombiereportingcenter.com/page/2/?s=diary+of+the+dead