Our Roots
The initial concept of Indigimedia was seeded in the Amazon rainforest while working with a Shipibo Conibo community in 2014 with Chris Scholten to produce an inside look at the community and their elder Elias Sinti Majin.
After travelling back and forth between the rainforest and the Andes to work with another NGO based out of Pisac, Peru we started formulating the idea to organize ourselves and a selection of volunteers that had been returning back to Peru to continue the bounty of work with various communities.
Our Mission
In its roots, Indigimedia represents a collective of former volunteers that have crossed paths while working separately, or sometimes together, on various projects. We wanted a way to bring together the core group of volunteers so that we could work more efficiently as a team while realizing the goals of the communities we were quickly becoming a part of.
The goal for all of us was simple in its idea – we wanted to continue the work with the communities but we wanted to find a way to make our work with them much more sustainable. Volunteering is a wonderful way to share and contribute, but it’s usually very temporary due to means and life.
The experience of working with the Kusi Kawsay association over the past 11 years has taught us some key lessons. There is a surplus of volunteer opportunities however the publication of material to share with their donor base and growing audience always depended upon whether or not there were people with the experience around during the time when they needed it most as well as whether or not those experienced people would have the time to dedicate to their needs.
Indigimedia aims to fill the gaps between these amazing communities, their projects, their stories and their growing audience as their NGOs grow. By working directly with the communities and taking the responsibility of producing their communication material, the technical expertise that is involved and the organization that needs to happen out of their hands, they can focus on the actual projects themselves, which is the most important thing.
Who We Are
Aspen Mirabal
Cultural Appropriation Advisor & Social Media Publicist
“Indigimedia to me is…
Being selfless and open.. because we are introducing and guiding indigenous communities the opportunity to expand and relate to the world in a whole new approach through up to date modern technology. In a healthy and delicate way, we provide the opportunity to assist and teach indigenous peoples the skills and techniques needed so that they may become fluent in how to communicate their primitive sense of self to the whole world through documentation via photography, videography, a strong web presence, etc. when necessary, or when expressing a strong message to the world, or simply through promoting a business.”
Biography
Aspen is committed to a passionate intention of “bringing back” the lost tradition of natural birthing to her people of Taos Pueblo. She is determined to gain knowledge and experience from the elders who still thrive to keep their wisdom kindled by passing on their expertise to youth, along with incorporating more modern methods. In this way, the ancestral ways are preserved, and continue to be safeguarded for their inherent sageness and understanding.
Walker Hull
Videographer, Editor
“Indigimedia is a storytelling collective that works in direct collaboration with traditional indigenous communities – a force of individuals who joined together to form a digital multimedia production team to work in alliance with these communities to preserve their rich cultural heritage and worldviews. Through a community-based participatory framework, we work hand in hand with native peoples to produce ethnographic films and multimedia content to document their traditions, teach them production skills, and provide them with tools so they can share their voices, stories, and knowledge with the world.
As a force, Indigimedia transcends all of us because for me it is ultimately about hope. Through indigenous cultural preservation and safeguarding ancestral wisdom, this project has great potential to influence social change by inspiring other native communities and our audience to protect the sacred nature of Mother Earth and all her life in order to create a better world for everyone.”
Biography
Walker Hull is a filmmaker and cinematographer specializing in the creation of documentary storytelling content. Born in Washington, DC, he spent much of his childhood in rural New Mexico where he formed a deep connection to the land and nature.
He studied at New College of Florida, where he obtained his BA in Cultural Anthropology, with a specific focus in Visual Anthropology and ethnographic documentary film.
His senior thesis, entitled “A Path to a Happy Life: Andean Cultural Preservation and Quechua Identity Construction in the Sacred Valley,” is a written ethnography and a forty minute ethnographic documentary film about the history, struggles, and triumphs of the Kusi Kawsay community. This community is a group of indigenous Andean families, living in the Sacred Valley of Peru, who for over twenty years have been engaged in grassroots cultural preservation projects to protect their ancestral heritage from being lost to outside forces of modernity, religious fundamentalism, and globalization.
Through his work on his senior thesis he volunteered with this community to document their sociocultural work, and in the process developed deep bonds of trust and relationships with many of the different members. Through this process he met the other co-founders of Indigimedia, each of who had their own personal connections to the Kusi Kawsay community. Together they formalized the initial seed of Indigimedia into a collective of artists and creators dedicated to working with traditional indigenous communities to preserve their ancestral culture and pass on this wisdom to future generations for the benefit of all humanity.
Monte Amador
Developer, Designer, Programmer and Multimedia trainer
“Indigimedia, in its roots, represents the best in all of us. The ability to apply one’s natural talents, for the benefit of all, is a practice that germinates and grows, like a seed. At the same time, that application is a movement and intention that reciprocates and fosters itself, the initial seed.
We see value of encouraging dialog through story, steeped in ancestral knowledge of what it means to be human. By working together with traditional indigenous communities we help produce and share their stories, projects, and aspirations through multimedia channels.
We encourage participants in the community to learn from our multimedia classes; that they may weave their own stories from their own talents to teach other and pass along their experiences, thereby strengthening community.”
Biography
Based out of the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Peru, I work as an independent web developer and designer. I first came to Peru in 2007 with a very large video camera and sought to see what I could do with it. I first worked with the Q’eros community and helped produce a series of documentaries focused on the challenges the community was having with the municipality at that time while they were moving forward to build a school that could help sustain their invaluable culture. During this time I met Roman and Fielding Vizcarra and started production on a collection of documentaries focused on preserving their traditional culture and events. A year afterwards we teamed up to help construct their Kusi Kawsay Association (NGO) and have been working with the founding families and their school Kusi Kawsay (Happy Life).
Matt Dayka
Photographer
“I see Indigimedia as a group of creatives who want to put their work where their hearts are. We are able to help give an authentic voice to indigenous communities who would struggle to do so on their own. The goal is to empower people to create new opportunities for themselves; we can help by providing tools and access they may not have otherwise. At first, this may come in the form of us understanding their needs and telling their stories for them, but should ultimately become them learning how to tell their stories to a broader audience for themselves. I see our work primarily as facilitators – we are just the megaphone to amplify their voice.”
Biography
I was taught entirely on film, but made the transition to an all digital workflow before graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree from Brooks Institute of Photography in 2005. Having gained the ability to couple technical skill with creative vision, I specialize in location photography using minimal set up. I love to laugh and live to love, always having fun and making the most out of everything I do.
I am based on the Central Coast of California, splitting my time between Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and the road.
I am a proud member of Wonderful Machine, American Society of Media Photographers, and the International Leica Historical Society
Chris Scholten
Photographer, Videography, Editor, Designer
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Biography
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– Showcase testimonials from community delegates (words only at this point, but we are planning on getting short videos as well) to communicate the trust we have established