Indigenous Cosmologies and Communities

This chapter considers the ecological dimensions of the artistic collaborations of Ojibwe animator Jonathan Thunder and Arapaho and Kickapoo media artist Missy Whiteman. Locating Thunder and Whiteman’s work at the intersections of ecocinema and Indigenous digital studies, I examine how artistic communities and collaborations create ecomedia that highlights Indigenous cosmologies in sharp contrast to settler colonial industrialism and capitalism. These cinematic renderings challenge simplistic notions of western progress and bring important concepts regarding Indigenous relationality back into focus. In performing this ecocritical reading, I contribute to larger conversations about ecocinema communities and practices by focusing on the music video “Time Dreams”, Minneapolis digital billboards, and Thunder’s art installation “Manifest’o” to show how they animate and Indigenize urban landscapes while illuminating the ethics and values of Indigenous cosmologies.