Nellie Whiteman, a recent graduate of Montana State University, will have her senior film, “Cheyenne Creation Story,” screened at the Red Nation International Film Festival in Los Angeles from November 10 to 16. The festival is recognized as one of the largest Indigenous film festivals in the United States and features an awards ceremony broadcast live on the Red Nation Television Network.
Whiteman, who is Northern Cheyenne and Oglala Lakota, was the first member of her family to attend a four-year university. She described experiencing culture shock when she moved from Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to study at Montana State University (MSU). Despite these challenges, she pursued filmmaking and directed two films during her time at MSU.
“I need to do this,” said Whiteman, who graduated in May with a degree in film and a minor in Native American studies. “If I don’t, who else will?”
Her six-minute documentary tells the oral history of how the Cheyenne people believe they came to be. The film was produced as part of a senior production class requirement to enter their work into at least five festivals. Instructor Alexa Alberda explained that students spent a semester planning, crowdfunding, filming, and editing their projects using MSU’s resources.
“I like to tell the students that we make art to be seen, not to hide it in our closets,” Alberda said. “When they’ve put months and months of work into something, we really want to push them to put it out in the world, even if it’s scary.”
Whiteman’s team included fellow seniors Anna Bouressa as director of photography, Simon Gatte as sound designer, Jonathan Gibson as behind-the-scenes manager, Carter Hudson as editor, and Maddison Whitaker-Barnett as producer.
The film features Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr., Nellie Whiteman’s father and a former cultural adviser for the film “Hostiles.” He recounts the creation story in Cheyenne while seated in MSU’s American Indian Hall. English subtitles are provided for accessibility while preserving the tradition of passing down stories orally in the Native language.
Whiteman noted that sharing this story in Cheyenne was important due to declining numbers of fluent speakers. She cited factors such as COVID-19’s impact on older generations and historical assimilation policies at Native boarding schools that discouraged cultural practices.
“I felt like I was able to make something I was proud of and that is for my community and where I come from,” said Nellie Whiteman. “And it didn’t just help me, it’s helping them in the long run.”
Anna Bouressa reflected on her experience working on the project after switching majors from business to photography at MSU. She has since worked with Outside Bozeman magazine and on projects for organizations like Oregon’s Department of Human Services.
After graduating, Whiteman completed a fellowship at Lone Peak Film Festival and received mentorship from directors involved with the documentary “Bring Them Home.” She described entering festivals as instrumental for her growth: “Entering [my team’s] film into festivals and actually getting responses definitely boosted my confidence,” she said. “Like, OK, maybe I can actually be a director.”
