About
We’re building a database for Indigenous creatives. Our goal: To foster community with other creatives while increasing visibility, hiring opportunities, and collaborations in global media industries. We prioritize Indigenous peoples and actively seek to build coalition with other artists in the global majority, including Black, Latinx, Asian, and people of color, as well as people who are undocumented, Two Spirit, femme, trans, and nonbinary people, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities. We look forward to building a new way of working in a changing world while showcasing and creating community for Indigenous screen storytellers.
Statement Regarding Indigenous Identity
We acknowledge that, due to colonization and white supremacy, our stories of Indigenous identity are complex narratives. We intend to create a space for persons who have done the work of learning about themselves and being in community with their Indigenous family and peers, with the goal of connecting to one’s unique lived experience, reflecting on how it has been shaped by the knowledge, joy, challenges, and history of one’s elders and ancestors. As such, we ask all who join this online community to be ready to share more about your journey toward connecting with your community, bringing forward stories rooted in lived Indigenous realities. Wherever you are on your personal journey toward embracing your Indigenous self, your ancestors, and your future, we look forward to connecting with you.
Code of Conduct
Kin Theory is intended to be a safe space for all, including Indigenous womxn, Two-Spirit people, youth, and those most marginalized in our communities. Kin Theory is committed to creating a database free of harassment, discrimination, sexism, and threatening or disrespectful behavior. We reserve the right to deny access to, or remove from our online spaces, those who have violated the sacred, especially those who remain unrepentant with no movement towards healing and reconciliation. We are committed to doing everything in our power to minimize harm, as well as to support safety and healing in the Indigenous community whenever possible.
Please reach out via email if you experience any unsafe behavior, and we will safeguard your information and privacy. We also welcome feedback of any kind as we continue to grow our media communities and this site together. Kin Theory does not endorse or represent anyone on this site.
Declaration of Indigenous Cinema
This Declaration was written by Åsa Simma (Sámi), with support from Darlene Johnson (Dunghutti), and accepted and recognized by the participants of the Indigenous Film Conference in Kautokeino, Sápmi, October 2011. Thanks to the International Sámi Film Institute (English), imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Inuktitut translations in programs), and Māoriland FIlm Festival for making this declaration visible.
“We, the indigenous screen storytellers, united in this northern corner of our mother the earth in a great assembly of wisdom declare to all nations.”
We glory in our past,
- When our earth was nurturing our oral traditions
- When night sky evoked the visions of our dreams
- When Sun and the Moon were our parents in our stories told
- When storytelling made us all brothers and sisters
- When our stories brought forth great chiefs and leaders
- When justice was encouraged in the stories told
We will,
- Hold and manage Indigenous cultural and intellectual property
- Ensure our continued recognition as primary guardians and interpreters of our culture
- Respect Indigenous individuals and communities
- Faithfully preserve our traditional knowledge with sound and image
- Use our skills to communicate with nature and all living things
- Heal our wounds through screen storytelling
- Preserve and pass on our stories to those not yet born
– Guovdageaidnu, Sámpi, October 2011
Contact
We are a project of Nia Tero. Please contact us at: mediacommunity@niatero.org
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