Amplifying Native Voices
In 2019 the Cherokee Nation became the first Native American tribe to create an office dedicated to supporting local film and television production. The stated mission of the Cherokee Nation Film Office is to increase the presence of Native Americans in every level of the film and television industries, while creating opportunities for economic development and jobs in the Cherokee Nation – a 14 county reservation area in northeastern Oklahoma. Martin Scorsese’s feature film Killers of the Flower Moon was shot last year in locations throughout northeastern Oklahoma and within the boundaries of multiple tribal nations, including the Osage Nation, Muscogee Nation and Cherokee Nation. Already this year eleven projects have filmed, are filming, or are scheduled to be filmed in Oklahoma including season two of the television series Reservation Dogs, and the feature films The Adventures of Jurassic Pet II and I Ain’t Getting Killed. Jennifer Loren, a multiple Emmy-award winning filmmaker, news anchor, investigative reporter and producer has been working in film and television since 2001. In 2014, she began working for her tribe at Cherokee Nation Businesses where she co-created the highly acclaimed docuseries Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People. In 2019, she helped to create and roll out the Cherokee Nation Film Office and now serves as its director, as well as the director of original content for the Cherokee Nation. I recently spoke with Loren, via email, about her ongoing work as a content creator and as the head of a growing film office.
