April 2005

Valerie Red-Horse (Cherokee and Sioux) is an accomplished producer, writer, director and actress. She participated in the 2002-2003 Fox Network's Diversity Writer's Lab. Her film Naturally Native, funded by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, went on to receive numerous awards, including the Producers Award at the 1998 American Indian Film Festival and the Special Jury Award at the 1999 Dreamspeakers Film Festival. Red-Horse often speaks about her career at public forums, such as the 2003 Women of Color Advisory in Chicago. She studied at the Lee Stasberg Theater Institute, received a B.F.A. from UCLA, and was raised in central California.

"The most appealing part of filmmaking for me is the ability to touch lives, make a difference in the world, and change people's attitudes through storytelling. There is no other method more effective and powerful than the film genre: it can be horrible when used improperly, but so amazingly wonderful when it can bring beautifully accurate depictions to, and of, underserved communities like ours."

Screened by NMAI

• True Whispers: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers (2002) co-director, screenwriter
  
• Naturally Native (1998) co-producer, co-director, screenwriter, actress

Image credit: Valerie Red-Horse - courtesy of the filmmaker