Telling the complex stories of Taos Pueblo
Two local winners of Sen. John Pinto Fund for Native filmmakers
THE LEGACY of the longest-serving Native American legislator in U.S. history, Senator John Pinto, of the Navajo Nation, who served as a Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate from 1977 until his death in 2019, continues.
Pinto’s commitment to improving the lives of Native Americans in New Mexico lives on through a memorial fund offered to Native American filmmakers, the Senator John Pinto Memorial Fund.
Two filmmakers from Taos Pueblo were among the winners this year: Dawning Pollen Shorty and Cameron Martinez Jr. In a statement released to the press July 13, 2020, the New Mexico Film Office announced the grant recipients for the SJPMF.
Last year the New Mexico Legislature
approved $100,000 for the SJPMF in honor of the late senator’s tireless efforts to support the Native American film industry with funds divided into 20 $5,000 grants and awarded to Native American filmmakers around the state. The grants aid those recipients with preproduction, production or postproduction costs. According to the press release, “Grantees must be registered members of one of the tribes or pueblos of New Mexico.”
Pollen Shorty was selected for her piece “Three Generations:
A Family of Artists,” which, according to press release, “is a short documentary film that chronicles the lives and histories of the Track/Shorty family through almost 100 years.” Although this isn’t Pollen Shorty’s first experience in the film industry, “This is my debut as a filmmaker for my own project,” she said.
Her first professional gig was as the set photographer for a film called “Opal,” a Reel Indian Pics pro
duction and a Sundance film for the Native Filmmakers Lab. Creativity for Pollen Shorty comes from a long line of artistic talent that runs in her blood.
When Tempo asked why she chose to go into film, the aspiring film producer/director had this to say: “I feel like film chose me. I first took photography with my friend in high school at Taos High School. We were the journalism photographers for the school newspaper. My friend Kamala. She showed me the black [dark] room in the school. Then I studied at Institute of American Indian Arts, and then at University of New Mexico. This discipline was a perfect segue into film. Film is just moving photography.”
Pollen Shorty credits her friends with encouraging and supporting her. She was first informed about the SJPMF through a friend, and feels she is blessed. “My friends wouldn’t give up on me and supported me through the arduous process of writing a grant,” said Pollen Shorty.
With her debut project, Pollen Shorty hopes to educate people about unknown artists who deserve recognition and to have their story told by someone who experienced it firsthand. “These unknown artists have made significant contributions to the art world and art history. And they are humble. They do art for art’s sake. It is their medicine,” said Pollen Shorty.
She feels humbled to be included with the other SJPMF artists. “I know a couple of the filmmakers and they are so talented! And being a part of that group validates me as a storyteller for my people,” said Pollen Shorty. She also understands the huge responsibility of taking on such a role. The complexities of telling a Taos Pueblo story are many. “‘Three Generations’ is my debut as a director/producer. I am very excited and up for the challenge. After all it is my story.”
She described her film: “Taos can anticipate hearing an authentic story about a family of artists from the pueblo who brought so many people here to call their home. We saw the beauty
The late Sen. John Pinto, of the Navajo Nation, who served as a Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate from 1977 until his death in 2019.
of this magical place first. I want the audience to see our home, our art, our music and our land from our perspective.”
Another recipient from Taos Pueblo, Cameron Martinez Jr., also has the goal to, according to press release, “create film and television that would make his ancestors proud.” Cameron has accomplished just that with his project, a public service announcement video for Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW). It brings information and awareness to the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, specifically here in New Mexico and the greater Southwest.
Martinez’s parents, Cameron Sr. and Mary Alice, told Tempo, “We know his creative mind as we have seen his projects with music, comedy and satire, and he will utilize all pathways of his creative mind to develop a high-quality production fit for a mass general public service announcement.”
By the time Cameron debuted this video on his YouTube channel, he was already a seasoned filmmaker. Cameron graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts, in 2011. When Martinez completed the internship portion of his degree program, he said, “I had a bunch of opportunities to work on documentaries and stuff, but, that’s not what I really wanted to do. I like narrative film. So I waited.”
His patience paid off in the form of an internship as a props person on a feature film shot in Albuquerque. A year later and he had landed his first professional gig as a props master. “It’s kind of a funny situation,” he said. The props master he studied under had now become a production designer and, “He calls me up and is like hey bro, you wanna come down and work on this film, and I was like heck yeah.”
Martinez admits he was uneasy about accepting the position due to his own lack of experience. But through the encouragement of the production designer, he mustered the courage and successfully aided the completion of the film.
His career in film began to snowball. Over the following two years Martinez worked as a props master in locations from Los Angeles to Buffalo, New York. Upon his return, he injured his knee and required surgery. Film production requires quick reflexes and long hours on your feet, and the healing process was long. However unfortunate, his injury “turned out to be a blessing in disguise because during that time I got to focus on my own work. I am a