Red Nation tapped New Mexico sculptor artist Phillip Mangas Haozous son of the late Apache sculptor artist Allan Houser to create and design “The Red Nation Statuette.”
For the very first time in the history of American film, Native actors, filmmakers, and producers have a coveted award equivalent to the well known “Oscar.” It symbolizes exceptional achievement and filmmaking excellence.
There may be other claimants to the title of "Indian Oscar." The First Americans in the Arts gave out a sculpted award and I wouldn't be surprised if the American Indian Film Festival did too.
For more on the subject, see Red Nation's Benefit for Reservations and 6th Annual Red Nation Film Festival.
From a media alert posted on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteAugust 19, 2010
Red Nation Film Festival Abruptly Cancelled by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Red Nation Film Festival (RNFF) had its opening night Red is Green Carpet Gala August 17th at The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture where Red Nation unveiled the Red Nation Film Award of Excellence designed by Phillip M. Haozous.
After the Opening, Museum Director Shelby Tuesdale abruptly cancelled the scheduled films for August 20th and 21st which resulted in breach of contract.
Museum director stated to founder of RNFF she would refund the check paid to the museum, thus creating a huge financial burden to RNFF who put thousands of dollars into promoting the event.
It became apparent that the staff at the museum--including its director--were unwilling to handle this kind of event and were uncooperative.