Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting

Join Indigenous filmmakers Ben West and Yancey Burns, and psychologist, Amy West, on Wednesday, December 13 to find out why Native mascots are so harmful to all children, how pervasive Native mascots are in schools across the country and beyond, and what we all can do about it. They’ll share with us clips from their courageous new documentary, “Imagining the Indian“, the voices of Native American experts on children’s positive cultural identity, and the struggles and strategies of undaunted Native American leaders who will not stop until the misappropriation of Native culture and the stereotyping stop.

**Each webinar includes live Spanish language translation and closed captioning. Certificates of attendance are available!**

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SPEAKERS

Ben West (Cheyenne), Co-Director / Co-Producer / Co-Writer

• Ben West (Cheyenne) is a writer and filmmaker who has worked with companies such as Carsey-Werner Mandabach, Telenova Productions, Mandalay Pictures, and outlets such as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
• West was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California. He has chosen to focus much of his life’s work on Native Peoples.

Yancey Burns, Co-Producer / Co-Writer

• A graduate of the George Washington University Documentary Film Center, he wrote and directed the award-winning documentary short One Fall, which explores the return of independent professional wrestling to the District of Columbia.
• Prior to filmmaking, he was a practicing attorney, most recently with the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, where he prosecuted ethical misconduct in the DC government. He also owns and manages his family farm in Lincoln County, West Virginia, which produces 100% grass-fed Hereford beef.
• Burns holds a BS in Journalism from West Virginia University, a JD from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, and an MA in Strategic Communication from the GWU School of Media and Public Affairs.

Amy West, Ph.D. ,Clinical child and adolescent Psychologist

• Dr. Amy E West is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Psychology, and Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences; Associate Director for Education, Research, and Training, and Director of the CHLA Child Clinical and Pediatric Psychology Internship in the Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and USC Keck School of Medicine.
• Dr. West is Southern Cheyenne and has 20+ years of experience working in Indigenous communities and as part of national Indigenous networks of scholars focused on promoting the health and well-being of Indigenous youth. She has served in national leadership and advisory positions with respect to Indigenous child development and mental health, including as part of the Tribal Research Council funded by the Administration for Children and Families, American Indian/Alaska Native Research Task Forces at the National Institutes of Health, and the Native Children’s Research Exchange, among others.