2008 Horace Mann Award Recipient - Tracy Rector

Empowering Native Youth to Become Storytellers and Filmmakers

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From the time she was in the 4th grade, Tracy Rector knew she would become an advocate for Native American rights.

Just what road she would take may have been uncertain then, but Rector recognized authentic contemporary Native American voices were often forgotten or not heard.  Looking around her, she never saw positive images on television or in the movies that reflected her experience – or that of others – as a Native American of mixed race heritage.

Over time, she grew weary of the stereotypes so often portrayed by the dominant white male culture: the stoic Indian, the drunken transient or the shamanic Native American leader who guided people on spiritual quests.

"I realized oral history is so much a part of our Native cultures," she says, "and filmmaking is the modern form of storytelling."

In January 2005, Rector and Annie Silverstein launched the Longhouse Media/Native Lens program with support from the Swinomish Tribe. The award-winning program teaches digital filmmaking and media skills to Native youth with the added benefits of alternative education and career development. So far, participants include 25 Swinomish teen-agers and 550 other teens from indigenous cultures that extend from Washington to New Mexico.

"Digital media making not only gives teens access to self expression via modern technology but also complements the values important for many Native people."

"We teach youth to tell their own stories, which are often contemporary depictions of their everyday lives. These digital stories challenge stereotypes as well as teach non-Natives to learn who indigenous people are from their own perspectives," notes Rector, who soon will finish her M.A.Ed. with teacher preparation in Antioch's First Peoples' Education programs at the Muckleshoot Tribal College in Auburn.

This 2008 recipient of the Horace Mann Award has kudos for the First Peoples' program and the lasting friendships she has developed in her cohort.

"The First Peoples' program was an amazing experience," she says. "The cohort model has been extremely valuable to us all. As we succeed as professionals, it makes us feel as though we are appreciated as individuals. Being part of the First Peoples' program has been a life-lasting decision that will always affect me deeply."

Rector and Silverstein co-founded Longhouse Media, a Seattle nonprofit with a mission to catalyze indigenous people and communities to use media for self-expression, cultural preservation and social change. Rector is the organization's executive director and Silverstein serves as artistic director.

Native Lens is only one program now under Longhouse Media's wing. Others include media production for area nonprofits and a program called SuperFly, a collaboration that began in 2006 between Longhouse Media and the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). SuperFly brings together young filmmakers and actors from across the country for a filmmaking experience every June. Over a harrowing 36-hour period on a local reservation, participants create films that are then immediately screened at SIFF's youth film festival in Seattle.

Introducing Native youth to scriptwriting and filmmaking continues to be the focus of Longhouse Media/Native Lens. In 2007, Native Lens was the first Native American organization ever to receive a prestigious Mayor's Arts Award from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

"Digital media making not only gives teens access to self expression via modern technology but also complements the values important for many Native people," says Rector. "We ask our students to go to the elders, to utilize information from their individual tribes and hear the stories found in their own communities. They take it all in, learn, make their own stories and eventually give back to their communities."

She describes the three at-risk Swinomish teens who devoted years to making a documentary called "March Point." When they began, they knew nothing about the March Point land, once part of the Swinomish Reservation and now home to two oil refineries.

"It's incredible…these boys stuck with the project for three years and had the patience and perseverance to help make a feature film. 'March Point' is a coming-of-age story about the journey three youths take as they learn about filmmaking and their culture. It is also an environmental film that talks about the impact of two oil refineries on the reservation as well as treaty rights and the law," she says.

After talking to an attorney during their filming, the boys realized that as tribal members, they ultimately could inherit the land where the refineries are. Soon they gained community respect and recognition, especially once they found themselves communicating with congressmen in Washington, D.C.

"By having this kind of opportunity, we're able to bring teens out of challenging situations," Rector says. "One of the boys who worked on 'March Point,' had a life that was, in his words, 'going down the drain' before his Native Lens experience. His Mom told me she knew it wasn't always easy, but she thanked us for sticking by her son through the ups and downs. She feels he has made better choices as a result of our program. And he has often said that he doesn't know where he'd be without this project."

Those are the stories that convince Rector she has found the right road. In her role as executive director and co-founder of Longhouse Media, she says she is a teacher, mother, sister and mentor. Eighty-hour weeks are not uncommon, she concedes with a laugh.

"I've been able to combine my career with my passion and devote my life to supporting others. It's not because I have to. I'm inspired with a sense of wanting to give back to my community and provide a positive image and role model for Native Americans and other people of color," she says.

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