The Magazine

A decade ago, I began searching for Ancestral Diversity in film and audiovisual media. One of its origins was a visit I made in 2013 to the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Igbo people of Nigerian culture often repeat an unfounded account of their origins. Many believe they are the lost tribe of Judah due to perceived similarities between Igbo culture and Judaism.

Rebecca Nagle (pronouns: she/her) is a Two-Spirit/Queer citizen of Cherokee Nation. She has received several awards for her journalism and is a Peabody Award nominee. Her recent book, titled By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land, is a national bestseller and finalist for several book prizes, including the National Book Critics Circle Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and winner of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s E. E. Dale Award.

Yaffa (pronouns: they/she) is an autistic, queer, trans, Muslim, and multiply displaced Indigenous Palestinian. They are, among other things, a public speaker, published author, poet, stand-up comic, activist, and organizer. Yaffa is the Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) and founder of several nonprofits.

Johnnie Jae (pronouns: they/them) is an Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw asexual Indigiqueer artist, journalist, and advocate. They are the founder of media platforms Grim Native and A Tribe Called Geek. They are an artist for Eighth Generation and Portraits & Portals. They also serve on the Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors Coordinating Council and co-lead the Sharing the Story Committee. In addition, they host the Talking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors podcast, creating conversations around the work and impact of the Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors Project as they work to reconnect the Otoe-Missouria to their ancestral homelands in Nebraska.