The four-year collaboration will launch an annual filmmaking exchange, create Cherokee-language media and lay the foundation for a future Indigenous Media program at UCLA TFT
(Photo Courtesy of Cherokee Nation)
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 19, 2026) — The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT) has secured a $470,000 commitment from Cherokee Nation to launch a groundbreaking four-year collaboration focused on Indigenous storytelling, Cherokee-language preservation and the development of the next generation of filmmakers.
The funding will support an annual exchange between UCLA TFT and Cherokee Film, the creation of original Cherokee-language films and educational media and expanded opportunities for students across institutions and communities. The initiative is part of Picture Start, UCLA TFT Dean and Distinguished Professor Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s decanal five-year initiative, with the long-term ambition of establishing a permanent Indigenous Media program at the school.
Cherokee Nation will host a ceremonial signing on October 17 in Riverside, California, to formalize and commemorate the historic collaboration.
“A public school of theater, film and television exists to put the means of storytelling in the hands of communities whose stories have suffered distortion, scarcity and misrepresentations,” said Shimizu. “Our collaboration with the Cherokee Nation carries that charge forward.”
The four-year commitment brings together UCLA TFT’s internationally recognized filmmaking faculty, students and creative resources with Cherokee Film’s established production infrastructure and the Cherokee Nation’s longstanding leadership in language preservation and Indigenous media.
“Cherokee Nation has long understood that language preservation is inseparable from cultural sovereignty,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “This is a unique partnership that expands our mission of Cherokee-language revitalization and Indigenous filmmaking, accelerating that work while bringing Cherokee voices, perspectives and creative leadership to the forefront of an industry where Natives have too often been excluded.”
A Two-Way Exchange of Storytelling and Creative Expertise
A cornerstone of the collaboration is an annual reciprocal filmmaking exchange that will bring Cherokee filmmakers and students to Los Angeles and UCLA TFT students to Cherokee Film’s production facilities near Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Each year, a cohort of Cherokee filmmakers and students will participate in a curated learning experience at UCLA TFT, gaining access to faculty, production resources and professional development opportunities. In turn, a cohort of UCLA TFT students will travel to the Cherokee Nation and work alongside Cherokee Film professionals to gain hands-on experience in Indigenous filmmaking, community-centered storytelling and emerging production techniques.
“The Cherokee Nation’s virtual production studios are among the most advanced anywhere,” said Shimizu. “Our students travel to Oklahoma to learn from them, and Cherokee students come to Los Angeles to learn from us our priorities in independence, innovation and impact.”
Preserving Cherokee Language Through Film
The collaboration will be guided in significant part by Joseph Erb, a Cherokee Nation citizen, filmmaker and newly appointed associate professor at UCLA TFT whose work has focused on Indigenous storytelling and Cherokee-language preservation.
Erb, who previously taught at UC Santa Cruz, has spent much of his career creating films in the Cherokee language and expanding access to the language through digital technology. His work spans animation, documentary and narrative filmmaking, including projects that bring Cherokee stories, cultural traditions and contemporary experiences to new audiences.
Working closely with Cherokee Nation language and cultural experts, UCLA TFT will develop original media that may include animated short films, language preservation documentaries and educational content. Cherokee experts will guide cultural representation, language accuracy and creative development throughout the process, reflecting a shared commitment to ensuring that Indigenous communities shape how their stories are preserved.
Building a Lasting Future for Indigenous Media at UCLA TFT
While Cherokee language media production is envisioned as the Year Four focus of Picture Start, currently in Year Two, the collaboration begins immediately with the annual exchange and expanding to include filmmaking, educational and language preservation projects.
The collaboration is also a foundational step toward UCLA TFT’s longer-term vision of establishing a dedicated Indigenous Media program. That vision, which remains in development and will depend on additional fundraising, seeks to expand Indigenous filmmaking education, creative research and community-centered production at UCLA.
“A handful of corporations now decide how most stories reach audiences,” said Shimizu. “Our answer is the strength of the local, the regional, the national and the sovereign, collaborating across borders. A sovereign nation telling its stories in its own language, through its own studios, shows the global industry what storytelling can become.”
The initiative builds on UCLA TFT’s legacy of advancing storytelling for social change, including the pioneering Ethno-Communications program that gave rise to the L.A. Rebellion, the influential independent filmmaking movement that expanded opportunities for historically underrepresented filmmakers.
Through the Cherokee Nation collaboration, UCLA TFT aims to carry that legacy forward by investing in Indigenous creative leadership, strengthening educational access and demonstrating how filmmaking can serve communities while preparing students for careers in a rapidly evolving global media landscape.
About UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) is a premier global interdisciplinary professional school, dedicated to developing visionary creators, industry leaders and scholars whose diverse and innovative voices inspire change for a better world. Consistently ranked among the world’s top entertainment and performing arts institutions, TFT offers a dynamic curriculum advancing the study and creation of live performance, film, television, digital media, and emerging algorithmic technologies. Its distinguished bachelor’s and Master’s degrees span acting, directing, writing, producing, animation, cinematography, design (costume, lighting, set, and sound), and research-based professions in arts institutions and archives. TFT’s doctoral alumni in theater and performance studies, as well as cinema and media studies, teach at leading universities in the U.S. and around the world.
About Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation is the sovereign government of the Cherokee people and the largest of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes. Based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation is the largest tribal nation in the country and one of the largest employers in northeast Oklahoma. It is committed to protecting Cherokee Nation’s inherent sovereignty, preserving and promoting Cherokee culture, language and values, and improving the quality of life for the next seven generations of Cherokee Nation citizens.
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Media Contact
Jacquie Henderson
jhenderson@tft.ucla.edu ∙ (310) 206-2830
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
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