Sandra Osawa

Sandra "Sandy" Sunrising Osawa is a Makah filmmaker and poet. She is best known for her films Lighting the Seventh Fire (1995) and On and Off the Res with Charlie Hill (1999).

Early life and education

Osawa is a member of the Makah nation of Washington state.[1][2] She grew up in a family of eight on a Makah Reservation; her father was a commercial fisherman.[3] She studied at Lewis & Clark College where she got her B.A. in both Political Science and English in 1964. She studied with the poets William Stafford and Vern Rutsala while at Lewis & Clark.[2] After she graduated, she worked on the Makah Housing authority as well as establishing a Head Start and Community Action Program for her tribe. In 1972, she moved to Los Angeles to work with the Los Angeles Indian Center as a part of their public information department. She was also an editor of Talking Leaf, the organization's newsletter.[3] She attended film school at UCLA.[4]

TV work

Osawa directed, wrote, and produced the Native American Series for NBC in 1974. The series focused on Native American issues[5] and featured both Native guests, like Buffy Sainte-Marie, and non-Native guests who were concerned with Native issues, like Marlon Brando.[6] By 1975, series became very popular and aired before the Today Show.[5] Despite the fact that the series would air at 6:30 AM, it still had a following; Osawa would receive letters asking that the program be played at a "decent hour"[6] She was the first Native American to produce a TV series for NBC. She also was the first Native filmmaker to produce a POV program with PBS.[7]

Film career

In 1980, she formed Upstream productions with her husband, Yasu Osawa.[7] She met Osawa while at UCLA.[2] Her first documentary, In the Heart of Big Mountain focuses on Kathrine Smith, a Navajo matriarch and the relocation of her tribe. She worked on The Eight Fire for NBC which examined treaty rights in three different parts of the U.S. She then, worked on her film Lighting the Seventh Fire, a film about Chippewa spearfishing rights in Wisconsin.[8] The film's title refers to the Chippewa Seven fires prophecy.[9] In 1995, she released Pepper's Pow Wow, a documentary that focused on the life of Kaw-Muscogee jazz saxophonist Jim Pepper. The first part of her film Usual and Accustomed Places aired at Sundance in 1997.[10] In 1999, she made the documentary On and Off the Res with Charlie Hill about Oneida comedian Charlie Hill.[11] Her 2007 film, Maria Tallchief, examined the life of the first Native American ballerina Maria Tallchief.[8]

Awards

Osawa has received many awards for her work including best documentary in 1994 for Lighting the Seventh Fire at the American Indian Film Festival and the Taos American Indian Filmmaker of the Year in 1996.[7]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ Seelye, James E.; Littleton, Steven A. (2013). Voices of the American Indian Experience, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. p. 599. ISBN 978-0313381164. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Upstream Productions: Real Native American Stories". Lewis and Clark College. Lewis and Clark College. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Rosenthal, Nicholas (2012). Reimagining Indian country : native American migration & identity in twentieth-century Los Angeles. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 98. ISBN 9780807869994.
  4. ↑ Lam, Rachel (Sep 20, 2013). "Makah Filmmaker Fights Stereotypes One Story At A Time". KUOW news and information. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 Tahmahkera, Dustin (2014). Tribal Television: Viewing Native People in Sitcoms. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781469618692. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 Singer, Beverly (2001). Wiping the War Paint Off the Lens. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. pp. 36–38. ISBN 9780816631605.
  7. 1 2 3 Hoffman, Elizabeth (2012). American Indians and Popular Culture: Media, sports, and politics. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. pp. 90–92. ISBN 9780313379901. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. 1 2 Osawa, Saza (2012). "An Upstream Journey: An Interview with Sandra Osawa". In Buffalohead, Eric; Marubbio, M Elise. Native Americans on Film. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky. pp. 303–321. ISBN 9780813136813.
  9. ↑ Singer, Beverly (2001). Wiping the War Paint Off the Lens. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780816631605.
  10. 1 2 3 Abbott, Lawrence (1998). "Interview: Sandy Osawa". American Indian Quarterly 22 (1/2): 104. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Blair, Elizabeth. "Native American Comic Living The 'Indigenous Dream'". NPR. Retrieved 13 February 2016.

External links

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